I would be considered a &quot;hustler&quot; under the terms offered in your post. As such, I have attended multiple hackathons as a company rep, to support friends, or just to keep up on new ideas. Yes, for me hackathons can be a spectator sport. I do understand the frustration of some hackers that build brilliant applications but fail to win, I have seen it happen. I also have yet to meet a hacker who does not think he&#x2F;she should win every contest they enter. (that is funny because its true). Like everything else that grows in popularity the original goal may become less obvious over time. Is this a good or bad thing? It depends I suppose. One thing I do know is that popularity brings more attention, which brings more sponsors, which brings larger and more diverse hackathons. Hackers are the heart and soul of hackatons obviously, just don&#x27;t discredit the business side too much. We kind of need each other. Good luck with your next event