tl;dr You can also watch a quick 60-second animated video covering all these details:
Most hackathon judging is a black box. You submit, you wait, you get a number. Maybe feedback, maybe not. Open House does it differently, and if you're applying, knowing the framework gives you an edge.
We evaluate every Open House submission on execution, problem-solution fit, and traction. No mystery categories, no subjective vibes. Here's what the judges are looking at and why it matters.
Execution is the first filter
The first thing judges open is your repo and your demo. Not your pitch deck. Not your Twitter bio.
A strong execution score means you shipped a functional MVP with decent code structure, some docs and tests, and a demo that actually works. That's the baseline for being taken seriously. Below that, you're showing an idea, not a product. Above that, you're showing a team that can build under pressure and keep building after the event ends.
In India, the first Open House cohort, here's what the team that won the highest execution score did. They implemented a high-precision math layer in Stylus using Q96.48 fixed-point arithmetic, added trade segmentation for large orders, and had the whole thing running on Arbitrum. That's not a weekend sketch. That's a team demonstrating they can ship production-grade work on a deadline.
What judges are actually checking: Does the repo match the demo? Is the code structured like someone plans to maintain it? Is there a deployed contract on an Arbitrum chain? Does the team's background (GitHub history, prior work) support the claim that they can keep going?
Problem and solution is where most teams lose points
This is the criterion where most submissions land in the middle of the pack. Most teams can identify a problem. Fewer can explain why their solution is the right one, and fewer still can articulate why it needs to exist on Arbitrum specifically.
Scoring well here requires strong differentiation or an ecosystem-first approach, plus a roadmap that supports continued execution. Generic DeFi dashboards and "blockchain for X" pitches without clear user value sit near the bottom.
Right now, the sectors where we see the strongest builder momentum and clearest Arbitrum fit are payments and stablecoins, DeFi, RWAs, privacy, consumer products, and Arbitrum-native tooling around Stylus and Timeboost. Judges know what good looks like in each of these areas, and the bar is specific.
In DeFi, for instance, we care about user-facing financial products, not standalone protocols. In payments, we want products where stablecoins feel like local money, not products that expose crypto complexity to end users. In privacy, we're looking for privacy-enabled products people would actually adopt, not abstract primitives.
The difference between a mid-range and a top score here? A top score is a first-of-its-kind idea for Arbitrum with a well-articulated case for why the problem, the solution, and the chain all fit together.
Traction or potential is the tiebreaker
Two teams with similar execution and problem-solution scores get separated here. This criterion looks at whether there's evidence the project will continue to exist after the event.
Judges look at GitHub activity beyond the hackathon commits, social presence, community engagement, and whether there's a defined path forward. A roadmap alone isn't enough. Judges want to see signals that the team is building something they intend to ship to users, not just something that wins a prize.
In India, the first Open House cohort, many of the winning teams advanced to the mentorship program after the Founder House. Several of those teams are continuing their progress toward mainnet launch. That's the kind of trajectory this criterion is trying to predict.
At the bottom of the range: dormant repo, no socials, no roadmap. At the top: demonstrated adoption or strong momentum with an engaged community, partnerships, repeat builders, or a credible launch plan.
The eligibility rule nobody should miss
Before any scoring happens, there's one binary check: your project must be deployed on an Arbitrum chain. Not "plans to deploy." Not "could work on Arbitrum." Deployed. This eliminates a surprising number of submissions.
That chain can be Arbitrum One, Arbitrum Sepolia, or your own Arbitrum chain. If you haven't explored launching your own, the gentle introduction is a good starting point. And if you want to test on infrastructure purpose-built for builders, Robinhood recently launched a testnet on Arbitrum and backed Open House with a $1 million investment in supporting builders in the ecosystem.
What this means for your project
The NYC buildathon is live right now. The NYC Founder House is coming up and registration is open. Dubai registration is open too, with the buildathon running April 23 to May 14 and the Founder House May 28 to 31. Wherever you are in the pipeline, the scoring framework tells you where to spend your time.
Ship working software. A polished pitch deck with a broken demo loses to a rough pitch deck with a working MVP every time. Get your contracts deployed on Arbitrum Sepolia at minimum, Arbitrum One if you can.
Know what good looks like in your sector. If you're building in DeFi, that means a user-facing product with clear financial utility, not another protocol wrapper. If you're building in payments, that means an experience where stablecoins feel invisible to the end user. Judges evaluate submissions against specific expectations for each category, so make sure your project speaks directly to what matters in yours.
Show evidence of continued building. Active GitHub commits, a defined roadmap, social engagement, and pilot users all contribute to the traction score. If your repo goes silent after submission, judges notice.
Build on the Arbitrum stack with intention. Using Stylus, leveraging Timeboost, composing with existing Arbitrum DeFi protocols, or scoping an Arbitrum chain for your use case are all signals that you understand the ecosystem, not just the EVM.
Open House is designed to find teams that will keep building. The scoring reflects that. If you're serious about shipping a product on Arbitrum, the evaluation criteria work in your favor.
The NYC buildathon is live, the NYC Founder House kicks off soon, and Dubai registration is open. If you're building in payments, DeFi, RWAs, privacy, consumer, or Arbitrum-native tooling, there's an entry point for you right now at openhouse.arbitrum.io.
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