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+---
+visibility: public-edit
+---
+
+# match the theme/track
+
+## what happened
+
+built something that was neither "agents" nor "multimodal" for a multimodal agents hackathon. the project was good, but it didn't fit what the judges were looking for.
+
+## why it's a gotcha
+
+hackathon judges have rubrics. if the rubric says "use of [sponsor API]" or "alignment with [theme]," those are real scoring categories. building something irrelevant to the track is like answering the wrong question on a test — doesn't matter how good your answer is.
+
+## the fix
+
+read the judging criteria before you start building. seriously, read them. then build something that explicitly hits each criterion. you can still build what you're passionate about — just frame it within the track.
+
+## see also
+
+- [[perfectionism-over-hackathon-fit]] — building the right thing > building the perfect thing
+- [[not-reading-submission-requirements]] — same mistake: not reading the rules
+- [[frame-impact-explicitly]] — framing matters for judges
+- [[figure-out-what-you-want-before-partners]] — know what you're optimizing for
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