Born from Real Experiences
After running and participating in dozens of hackathons and feeling the pain of organizing them firsthand, we dedicated ourselves to creating the platform we wish we had.
Built by organizers, for organizers.
To empower hackathon organizers to focus on impact by replacing fragmented systems with a purpose-built platform.
A world where organizers spend their energy on mentorship and community, not logistics and spreadsheets.
By the Numbers
Real data from real events. Growing every week.
25+
Events Powered
700+
Participants
280+
Submissions
5,000+
Scores Processed
What Drives Us
The principles behind every product decision we make.
Transparency First
Live results, open scoring, no black boxes. When you are ready to share, everyone sees the same numbers.
Simplicity Over Features
If it adds complexity for organizers, it does not ship. Every screen should feel obvious on the first visit.
Built from Experience
Every feature comes from real event pain points. We have organized, judged, and participated. We built what we needed.
Organizer Freedom
Your time belongs with teams, not tools. Automate the logistics so you can focus on mentorship and community.
Who We Are
Software engineer with over a decade of experience, five hackathons organized, participant in Google's 45,000-developer Gemini API competition, and university hackathon judge. After years of building custom spreadsheets and fighting disconnected tools for every event, Alexandre started HackHQ to solve the problem at the source.
Every feature in HackHQ comes from real event experience: the scoring that broke during a live ceremony, the judge who couldn't figure out the login, the organizer who spent 40 hours on logistics instead of mentoring teams. That firsthand perspective drives every product decision.
Plus the organizers, judges, and participants whose feedback shapes every release.
Our Journey
From organizing corporate and judging university hackathons to building the future of hackathon management
The Problem
Years of organizing hackathons with custom spreadsheets, Google Forms, and Slack. Competitions with tens of thousands of participants that showed how hard submissions and judging are, even with dedicated resources. University events where paid software still required weeks of workarounds. The same pain everywhere: disconnected tools, manual tallying, broken formulas during live ceremonies.
HackHQ Founded
We started building the platform we wished existed. Not a generic event tool with hackathon features bolted on, but something purpose-built around the three things that matter most: submissions, judging, and live results.
First Events Powered
Real organizers ran real events on HackHQ from day one. The Better Auth hackathon at Y Combinator brought 113 participants and 37 submissions. Judging 37 projects with 11 judges took under 45 minutes. Early feedback shaped every iteration.
Scaling with Organizers
Now powering 25+ events across corporate teams, universities, and community organizers. Over 700 participants, 280+ project submissions, and 2,500+ votes processed. The Browser Use hackathon at Y Combinator scaled to 185 participants and 42 judges. Every feature still ships based on real event feedback.