New DFT guest features: Enhanced control for private hackathons

Running a private hackathon with external participants doesn't have to mean compromising on security or spending hours on admin work. Whether you're bringing in outside judges, partnering with another company, or working with consultants to run your event, you need tools that make guest management straightforward.

We've added two new features to Devpost for Teams (DFT) that give you more control over who joins your hackathon and how they participate: Guest Access Forms and Guest Organizers.

{{callout-1}}

Feature spotlight #1: Guest Access Request Form

DFT's Guest Access Forms let you ask specific questions before granting guests access to your hackathon. When you invite guests, they'll complete your custom form, which you can review before approving their participation.

You can add any questions that help you screen participants and meet your requirements.

How companies can use the Guest Access Request Form

• Get legal consent upfront for NDAs, terms and conditions, and privacy policies
• Check eligibility and compliance, like geographic restrictions
• Screen for relevant skills to ensure participants can contribute meaningfully to your challenges
• Confirm tool familiarity (e.g., “Have you used the APIs/SDKs required for this hackathon?”)
• Check availability and commitment to set proper expectations from the start

What this means for your team

• Better security: Know exactly who you're giving access to before they join your hackathon.
• Easier compliance: Collect required consents and documentation as part of the registration process.
• Less admin work: Stop chasing people for missing information—get everything upfront.

Feature spotlight #2: Guest Organizers

The Guest Organizer role lets you share day-to-day hackathon management duties with an external partner. This is especially useful when co-hosting with customers or strategic partners, or when working with third-party consultants to run events on your behalf.

Guest Organizers can:

• Edit hackathon page details, including description, schedule, project requirements, and share additional resources
• View and manage hackathon registrations and project submissions
• Compose and schedule hackathon announcements
• Manage judging criteria, view judges’ progress, and access judging and voting results

Guest Organizers can only perform these actions within the scope of the hackathon they’ve been invited to—meaning they won’t be able to see things like your organization’s settings within DFT. Guest Organizers also can't create new hackathons or delete existing ones.

When Guest Organizers make sense

• Partner-driven customer hackathons: Let strategic partners co-manage hackathons, sharing both the work and expertise
• Consultant-run hackathons: Have external experts handle operations while you focus on strategy
• Vendor onboarding events: Let vendors run internal employee hackathons to help your teams learn new tools

Why this works

• Less work for your team: External stakeholders handle day-to-day hackathon management while you maintain overall control.
• Better outcomes: Guest organizers bring market insights and authentic external perspectives that improve event quality.
• Stronger partnerships: When external partners have real ownership, they're more invested in making the event successful.

Complete guest management on Devpost for Teams

These new features work alongside DFT's existing guest management tools to give you everything you need for external collaboration in your private hackathons:

Flexible guest roles

You can assign your guests on DFT one of the following roles:

• Participants can register, join teams, submit projects, and vote on projects
• Judges evaluate and score submissions
• Organizers manage day-to-day hackathon operations [NEW]

Streamlined guest management operations

• Extended invitation windows let you invite guests at any stage of the hackathon, including through the judging period—perfect for recruiting expert judges after submissions close.
• Smart notifications bundle guest access requests into summary emails (sent a maximum of twice daily) to avoid inbox spam.
• Bulk actions let you approve multiple requests and send reminder emails efficiently.
• Real-time guest counts in your metrics dashboard help with planning and capacity management

{{callout-2}}

Best practices for inviting guests to your hackathons

Getting the most value from including external participants starts with strategic planning and clear communication. The key is matching your guest selection and screening process to your specific hackathon goals.

Choose the right participants

Define what expertise or perspectives you need upfront. Technical hackathons might require specific programming skills, while customer events might prioritize industry experience or use case knowledge.

Balance security with collaboration

Use the Guest Access Request Form to set clear expectations about confidentiality and information handling before guests join. This lets you maintain security while encouraging innovation.

Ready to upgrade your guest experience?

Guest Access Forms and Guest Organizers are available now for all DFT customers. If you want help setting up custom screening processes or exploring new collaboration models, our team can walk you through the options.

Ready to get started? Book a demo with our team to discuss implementation strategies for your specific use cases, or reach out to learn how these features can enhance your existing hackathon workflows.