Introduction

This year’s #BUIDLathon, is on track to be the world’s largest blockchain #BUIDLathon to date. We’re thrilled to be #BUIDLing alongside you towards the decentralized future.

To help you prepare, we’ve compiled a list of materials that will get you up to speed before the event begins in February. The more knowledge you have before attending ETHDenver, the more you’ll get out of the Community Innovation Festival. This guide will give you several quality resources, from basic to advanced, to help you be as effective as possible during your time with us.

ETHDenver 2024 also welcomes other chains and technologies that aren’t directly related to Ethereum. We believe that the web3 effort is a “rising tide raises all boats” effort. We believe in a future where blockchain interoperability and collaboration create limitless possibilities. 

Should you have any questions, please go to the Frequently Asked Question page on our support page.

Lets #BUIDL!
ETHDenver #BUIDL Stewards

How should I approach ETHDenver #BUIDLathon?

#BUIDLathons are designed to speedrun the discovery process for your next big idea (or web3 job). Mentors, educational content, networking, and bounties are there specifically to help remove obstacles to making that happen.

The best #BUIDL participants don’t ignore constraints though. You have 9 days to demonstrate to your peers, the judges, and sponsors that your project/team has legs. Your personal vision, no matter how strong, must meet the audience and users where they’re at, so they can join you in the future.

Ask yourself early and often “Why (not just what) are we #BUIDLing?” to focus your efforts. No project is perfect after 9 days (or ever), so iteration is key.

Successful projects aren’t always the most technically intricate, but the ones with a narrative that resonates with the audience. They have a well-developed user perspective and unique selling point. Teams that blend technical, design, and business expertise are the best at this!

In the real world, you compete with spam, scams, and full-time work just to get 10 seconds of attention through a tweet, DM, or email. Use this unique time when mentors, peers, employers, and partners have explicitly come to the #BUIDLathon to connect with you.

Don’t wait until judging time to introduce yourself, your team, and project to the #BUIDLathon. The most valuable things you can leave the #BUIDLathon with are relationships (mentors, advocates, employers, co-founders, employees, etc.) that persist back to the real world. You never know what opportunities will present themselves in the future because you spent a few minutes listening, sharing, and connecting with someone on a personal level.

In the end, have fun. Be present. Make memories. Commit to making the 2024 ETHDenver #BUIDLathon a seminal moment in your web3 journey whether it is just starting or is ready to go to the next level!

Team Formation

If you are coming to ETHDenver as yourself and without a team, it is common that you might find yourself overwhelmed when it comes to finding a team to work with. Sometimes it’s hard to know how to relate your skills to the projects that you see and or hear people are working on. To help you, we’ve created many ways to start engaging with others prior to the event happening.

• Join the ETHDenver Discord and find a team on the #find-a-team channel. Make a post telling us a bit about what you are interested in:
  > What skills do you have?
  > What do you want to learn?
  > Have an idea? Pitch it here so that people looking for teams and projects can DM you to connect!
• Join the ETHDenver Pre BUIDLathon Livestreams. If you’re looking for ideas, use cases, inspiration, or for a team, join the conversation on our Twitch and engage in the Discord channel after to find a team on the #find-a-team channel.
• Find team members during Team Formation Icebreaker events starting in January. We will also have team formation labs happening all #BUIDLWeek and the first Thursday in #BUIDLHub.

Note that we typically have over 1,000 solo #BUIDLers attending. Make an effort to connect with people via the Discord channel, but don’t be worried if you can’t form or join a team until the first day of the event.

Imposter Syndrome

#BUIDLers who have never attended ETHDenver or participated in a #BUIDLathon (or hackathon), can suffer from “imposter syndrome”: the feeling that they don’t belong because they are new to the space, don’t know how to code, or some other internal barrier that’s been erected. Well, check that at the door because everyone has something to contribute. We are all students. We are #BUIDLing the future together.

Who participates in a #BUIDLathon?

#BUIDLer

We define “#BUIDLer” very broadly:

• Someone who commits to building a better, decentralized future.
• Someone willing to learn, eager to contribute, and excited to share their unique skillset.
• Someone who contributes by writing code, designing UI/UX, managing to a product vision, marketing to adopters, keeping businesses protected from regulatory naysayers, and the like.

#BUIDLing is all about collaboration. The best products (and communities) meld unique perspectives from different walks of life. Whether you have a technical background or not, there’s a role for you in the #BUIDLathon and beyond:

• Developers
• Designers
• Marketers
• Product Managers
• Writers
• Strategists
• Lawyers
• Financiers/Investors

Sponsors

Our sponsors are some of the most respected projects, DAOs, and companies in web3. Their support enables this event to be what it is. They have chosen to be at ETHDenver specifically to connect with #BUIDLers—providing bounties, job opportunities, and support to accelerate your project.

Mentors

Mentors are here to support #BUIDLers in their pursuit of new ideas and contributions to our decentralized future. ETHDenver Mentors will provide feedback, help think through challenges, and generally guide you through the ETHDenver #BUIDLathon experience. Seeking wisdom from these mentors can not only just bring you a new advocate, but will unlock new experiences (hint…hint)!

ETHDenver also has a mentor program that operates year round and supports BUIDLers even after this weekend comes to a close.

Roles our Mentors are Experts in:

• Art/Design/UI/UX
• Business: Development/Sales
• Business: Marketing/Communications
• Investment: Founder-Investor
• Professional: Financial/Accounting
• Professional: Legal/Compliance/Regulatory
• Security
• Software Developer: Back End
• Software Developer: Front End
• Software Developer: web3/Smart Contracts
• Software Developer: Solidity

Judges

Our judges understand what it takes to #BUIDL the decentralized future. Experts in their craft, they encourage innovation and can spot creativity, uniqueness, and real impact. ETHDenver Judges will evaluate submitted projects to the five tracks using our 2024 Judging Criteria. New for 2024, our judging body will be a lot more technical minded as we are drilling down on the tech.
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Roles our Judges are Experts in:

• UI/UX
• Business Development
• Technical Investor
• Professional: Legal/Compliance/Regulatory
• Security
• Software Developer: Back End
• Software Developer: Front End
• Software Developer: Smart Contracts
• Software Developer: Solidity

Community

The community of ETHDenver will be buzzing around the #BUIDLathon all weekend, but on Sunday, they gather for the SporkDAO Community Project Fair and the Closing Ceremonies to watch the Top 15 #BUIDL teams pitch their projects. The ETHDenver community recognizes the dedication and effort that goes into #BUIDLathon and is there to celebrate it (and maybe find some alpha!).

How to succeed?

Sponsor Bounties

Sponsors have created detailed guidelines for their bounties in the following 5 categories. You can hack on as many as 10 bounties, or one. Stack bounties to get more chances to make a connection with a sponsor, and of course, potentially win some money.

The easiest way to win a bounty is by reading/listening carefully. Address the challenge the sponsors have outlined in their bounty descriptions and be clear throughout #BUIDLing why your efforts qualify. Judging a project submitted for a bounty, but not understanding why the work meets the criteria is a judge’s least favorite outcome. When it comes time for judging, directly explain to the sponsors why your project fits their criteria, why you chose the bounty category, and why they should choose you as a winner!
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There are five categories of bounties this year at ETHDenver:

• Feature Bounty - Use a feature of a protocol in your dapp or create a standalone experimental use case that leverages a feature.
• Web3 Security Bounty- Want to focus on security issues, find bugs and solve problems along the way to deploying your dapp? This one is for you!
• Launch MVP on Testnet or Mainnet - Are you launching a full dapp? Check which bounties are available for launching on specific networks and see if they apply to your dapp!
• Early Stage Startup - Are you ready to launch? Looking for grant, investment or follow-on funding? There may be opportunities for some amazing exposure in this category!
• Meaningful Open Source Contribution - PUBLIC GOODS are GOOD! Let’s build the crypto space together by hacking on some amazing open source repositories!

Track Projects

Not every project makes a great #BUIDLathon project. It’s important to maximize the following qualities in the project that you are working on:

• Be clear. Projects should have a clear question or problem that they are trying to solve, and a reasonably specific proposed solution to solve this question or problem.
• Attainable. Most teams will accomplish about 20% of what they think they can accomplish in the limited time that they have. Having a PM for the project is a good place to start and following ETHDenver’s suggested #BUIDLathon Plan will help you feel accomplished at the end of each session.
• Welcome new thoughts. Teams should be open to having other people with other views participate.
• Establish a stakeholder. The leader should guide the project to real-world relevance. Project’s without a stakeholder can “solve” a problem that doesn’t exist.
• Organized. The project leader's role should be to coordinate the project, ensuring each team member has something to work on.

When you start a team, you should treat these ideas like a checklist. Teams that think like this will be happier and more productive.The sooner your team can start to think about these the better. Which is why participating in as many pre-#BUIDLathon content opportunities are a smart thing to do.

Qualifying for Prizes

• All members of your team as listed on Devfolio must be physically present at EthDenver 2024, checked in at the mentor desk, in order to submit a project.
• ETHDenver is not just a show-up-and-submit event; active participation is required. The request is that you are checked in on Devfolio by March 1st, 10:00 AM 2024.
• Your entire team must be physically present at all judging sessions on Saturday March 2nd in order to win prize money.
• To compete in #BUILDathon, all team members must be physically present in Denver.
• Your project must integrate blockchain technology (other chains besides Ethereum are fine).
• You cannot work on your project before the event begins on February 23, 2024, 10 AM.
• Pre-existing projects are not allowed. However, you may build a new feature for an existing project that is unique and standalone. If you plan to #BUIDL on a pre-existing project, you must submit a proposal and get approval from the #BUIDL Steward.
• YOU CANNOT BE ON MORE THAN ONE TEAM.
• Your team can only submit up to 10 total sponsor bounties.
• Be cool - disruptive behavior will not be tolerated and may result in disqualification. Please refer to the waiver you signed when applying for the event for additional details regarding appropriate behavior.
• Please comply with all instructions from ETHDenver organizers.
• You cannot steal another team's source code or use previous code from another hackathon.
• Decisions are final for determining prizes and awards by the #BUIDL Steward.

FOR SOLO #BUILDERS

Here is what you can do:

• You can submit to sponsor bounties ONLY
• You can submit up to 10 total bounties

Here’s what you can not do

• You can not submit to an ETHDenver Track
• You can not present your project in front of the community
• You will not present on a stage in front of judges
• You will not present on a stage front of our Celebrity Judging Panel
• You cannot win a SporkWhale VIP Ticket for ETHDenver 2025

FOR TEAMS LASER FOCUSED #BUIDLING ONE PROJECT AND WANT MORE BONUSES

Here is what you can do:

1. You can join ONE team that you have to work with the entire #BUIDLathon
2. Your team can be 2-4 people
3. Your team can add one more team member if they are 100% focused on UI/UX, for a maximum team size of 5
4. Your team can submit up to 10 sponsor bounties
5. You can submit a project to the #BUIDLathon to present on the Track Stages
6. You will present on a stage in front of community judges
7. If the community judges pick you, you will earn the opportunity to be in the top 15 and present on a stage in front of Celebrity judges
8. You could get featured in ETHDenver Press
9. In addition to still winning Sponsor Bounties, your team will be in the running for Bufficorn Ventures Investment, Community Grants, and more
10. Your team could each win a SporkWhale VIP Ticket for ETHDenver 2025 ($2500)
11. You will earn more $Spork than solo BUILDers or teams submitting multiple projects
12. You could earn special sponsor gifts for placing in the Top 15/5

Here’s what you can not do:

• You cannot be a solo #BUILDer
• You cannot be on multiple teams
• You cannot submit multiple projects to sponsors

Meeting Team Formation Requirements

How many people you are #BUIDLing with will depend on what your goals are for ETHDenver 2024 #BUIDLathon. We've made some changes to these rules for ETHDenver 2024, so make sure you read them carefully.

Take The Interactive Team Formation Quiz

How does Judging Work?

There are two types of judging happening during ETHDenver:

• Sponsor Bounty Judging: Sponsor will judge all the projects that are submitted to their bounties.
• Track Judging: SporkDAO Community Members will judge all the projects that are submitted to one of five ETHDenver Tracks.

When is Sponsor Bounty Judging happening?

Sponsor Bounties are judged on Saturday March 2nd, from 11:00 AM MST to 3:00PM MST in #BUIDLHub on the floor. For more information on the sponsor judging schedule, check out the judging page.

When is ETHDenver Track Judging happening?

Judging for ETHDenver Track's are judged on Saturday March 2nd, from 2:00 PM MST to 8:00 PM MST in #BUIDLHub on one of the three stages. For more information on the Track Juding schedule, check out the judging page.

When is the Top 15 Judging happening?

The Top 15 Projects selected by Community Judges on Saturday March 2nd, will present their long format demo on Sunday March 3rd, 2024 starting at 2:00 PM MST. The Top 15 teams will meet at BUIDLHub on Sunday at 9:00 AM MST to meet with Mentors to work on their technical pitches and prepare for the main stage. Lunch will be provided to the Top 15 Teams on Sunday.

Top 15 Track Prizes

Monetary

The ETHDenver team has been incredibly impressed with the quality of projects we’ve seen before, and picking a “winner” quickly becomes a game of inches and preferences. This is why for the seventh year in a row, we have chosen to split each track’s prize pool equally among the teams in their track. For example, if there are 3 NFT Track teams in the final round, all 3 teams will split the NFT Track prize.

For each track, three teams will be selected as winners where each team will earn $5,000

Recognition

Celebrity Judges will not be deciding the Track finalists, but they will each select their favorite team to allocate a cash prize to. Going home with the “Vitalik’s Choice” award would be an honor to us, and, we hope, to you.

Schedule and Planning

We suggest reviewing the detailed schedule at ethdenver.com (to be released during #BUIDL Week) with your team so that you can schedule time in advance to attend workshops and panels without disturbing your team’s workflow.

#BUIDLWeek

Plan to attend BUIDLWeek events from Friday, February 23rd through Wednesday, February 28th!

Events will center around educational and technical workshops to get you ready to rock at ETHDenver.

All #BUIDLWeek event details are on ETHDenver’s website. If you decide to arrive in town early but still need to get work done between sessions, be sure to take advantage of complimentary co-working space access at the #BUIDLHub from 8 am to 10:00pm, February 23rd to February 28th.

Main Event

ETHDenver officially begins on February 29th, 2024 at 10:00 AM for the Opening Ceremony.

The BUIDLathon starts on February 23rd at 10 AM until the project submission deadline of 10:00 AM on Saturday, March 2nd.

The Closing Ceremony, including Top 15 awards, is on Sunday, March 3rd from 2:00-5:00 PM. Remember that your physical presence is required for prizes per the guidelines above.

The ETHDenver Closing Party takes place on Saturday.

The ETHDenver After Parties are community organized after 6:00 PM on Sunday March 3rd, and usually features live music, libations, and an incredible spread catered by top local eateries.

#BUIDLER BODEGA

#BUIDLers who demonstrate to mentors that they are continually working on their project will be “air-dropped” free food, drinks, and additional access to the #BUIDLer Bodega, food trucks, and around the entire venue, like the coffee lounge. Just a bit of extra motivation and reward on top of the value of making new connections with mentors, winning bounties, and developing skills during the #BUIDLathon.

Education + Skills Development

Free 32 Hour Course

Patrick Collins course will give you a full introduction into all of the core concepts related to blockchain, smart contracts, Solidity, ERC20s, full-stack web3 dapps, decentralized finance (DeFi), JavaScript, TypeScript, Chainlink, Ethereum, upgradable smart contracts, DAOs, the graph, moralis, aave, IPFS, and more. Follow along with the videos and you'll be a blockchain wizard in no time!

‍Start Cours

Guides

Learn Solidity Programming by Building a Game - Crypto Zombies

Learn Solidity Security by Wargame (Capture-the-flag)

‍DApp Development Tutorial (Videos)
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‍Interactive Tutorials on Decentralized Web Protocols (more than just blockchain!)Introduction to Web3

‍Beginner’s Guide to DeFi

‍Beginner’s Guide to NFTs

‍Minting, buying, selling NFTs

‍Vitalik’s blog post from 2014

‍Kinjal’s DAO resource guide

Brief Primer - just a start “DAOwn” the rabbit hole

Core Blockchain Concepts

These links will give you a starting place for learning about blockchain & Ethereum. Although you may be aware of these concepts, it is essential to know the fundamentals.

‍Understanding Blockchain Technology - Matt Lockyer (ETHDenver Metasteward)
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‍Why does blockchain matter?
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‍What is Blockchain? What industries will Blockchain disrupt?
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‍How does Ethereum work anyways?
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‍Token Standards of Blockchain
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‍ETHhub Reading & Community Resources

Polygon PoS -

Other Blockchain Related Software

These links will give you a starting place for learning about blockchain & Ethereum. Although you may be aware of these concepts, it is essential to know the fundamentals.

‍A Brief Primer on a few ethereum competitors (smart contract platforms)

‍Chainlink - an oracle system for odd-chain data to be verified and locked on a chain

‍IPFS - A distributed file system, often paired with blockchain data & contracts

‍HyperLedger - a set of projects centering around blockchain for Enterprise.

What Should I Bring?

Our on-site merch store during ETHDenver 2024 will have a LIMITED SUPPLY of USB-C to Ethernet adapters & Ethernet cables!

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Bring your laptop and power cable. We do not have the space to support monitors, or desktops.

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To ensure connectivity, please bring your 35' cable and dongle to use our wired connection!

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Let's #BUIDL!