Women of ServiceNow: Join the Fray at the CreatorCon 2025 Hackathon!
The lead-up to this year’s Knowledge conference is in full swing, with the entire ServiceNow ecosystem busy preparing sessions, speeches, demos and more. This year, I’d like to highlight the Hackathon event that takes place every year at CreatorCon and encourage you to join in the fun. I’ve become very passionate about this event and had the privilege of participating for the past two years. My team won both times, which was an incredibly exciting experience. What made it even more special was that my team was mostly composed of women. I’d love to see more women and majority-women teams participating this year, so I want to share some tips on how you can prepare for Hackathon and why you should consider joining.
So what is the CreatorCon Hackathon?
Hackathon is competition that takes place every year at CreatorCon, the conference within Knowledge dedicated to the developers and creators that bring the ServiceNow platform to life for organizations around the globe. At Hackathon, developers, architects, and low-code/no-code creators come together to build innovative applications on the ServiceNow platform in a high-pressure, time-crunched competitive environment . Hackathon (usually) takes place on the Tuesday evening of Knowledge and spans an eight-hour period.
At the start of Hackathon, the ServiceNow team members running the competition reveal four categories from which you can base your solution. For the remainder of the evening, you and up to four other creators work together to design, implement, and market your solution or idea.
At the end of the evening, these projects are judged, and winners are announced (usually the next day). It’s a fantastic opportunity to challenge yourself, collaborate with others, and have a great time building something innovative.
Why Participate?
Hackathon is for everyone
For years, I resisted the urge to participate purely because I felt my skills weren’t strong enough. However, one thing I’ve learned, and one thing I really want to stress: you don’t have to be a developer superstar to participate. By this point, I’ve heard it continuously stressed by the CreatorCon team: Hackathon is for everyone, for all skill levels both technical and non-technical alike.
ServiceNow’s growing number of low-code/no-code tools allow you to build unique solutions without actually touching code. And honestly, building the solution is only a part of what leads to a successful entry. Non-technical skills such as time management and keeping everyone on task (I’m looking at you EMs) help ensure that your entry is concise and complete. Individuals with marketing and design skills help do the work to ensure your entry is polished. Last year, my team included Senior Experience Designer Paige Garland. She was essential in helping us put together a beautiful UI, creating images, icons, mockups, and helping us put together our pitch video.
Bring your besties or make new ones
I’m naturally competitive, but beyond that, I love the camaraderie that participating in Hackathon builds. As someone who works for a partner, my day-to-day colleagues change with every project; sometimes, it’s the first and last time I get to work with a particular developer, designer, or project manager, especially now as an architect. As the careers of my colleagues and myself have developed, we find ourselves leading separate projects instead of getting to collaborate together. Hackathon gives me the unique opportunity to sling code with people I’ve always wanted to work with (from the same company or different ones), reconnect with colleagues, or make new, lasting connections within the industry. Especially with our industry being so male-dominated, it has been refreshing to work so closely with teams that were mostly women; a great opportunity to strengthen bonds and connect with others that have the unique experience of being a woman in this industry.
Sling That Code - Solve Problems - Save the Day
As an architect, much of my time these days is spent directing projects, reviewing developers' work, and designing solutions. Hackathon lets me get back to hands-on design and development, free from project requirements, meetings, and politics. For you and your team, dive in and do the thing that you love doing. It’s just about building, and I absolutely love that. Want to use ServiceNow to solve a problem or make the world a better place? This is a good place to do it.
The team running the hackathon will tell you this, and I’m here to reinforce it: If you’re even considering it, go for it! It’s an opportunity to learn, collaborate, and have fun, regardless of your skill level. It’s truly been a highlight of my Knowledge experience, and I hope it will be for you as well!
