Introduction: The “Hollow Demo” Problem
Have you ever watched a hackathon demo that looked impressive—until someone clicked “Next” or “Refresh,” and everything stopped working?
This happens more often than people admit.
Today, AI tools make it very easy to design a beautiful interface. In a few minutes, you can create pages, buttons, and forms that look like a real product. The app feels finished.
But then a judge tries to sign up. Or save data. Or run an AI feature.
Nothing works.
This is the most common problem for non-technical teams in hackathons:
The app looks real, but it doesn’t actually do anything.
The reason is simple.
Building the look of an app is fast.
Building the logic of an app—where data is saved, rules run, and AI actually works—is still hard for non-coders.
That’s why many “vibe coded” projects become hollow demos.
In this guide, we’ll introduce a practical non-technical hackathon stack:
Lovable for the frontend (what users see)
Momen for the backend (how the app really works)
This combination helps you go beyond a demo and ship a working, data-persistent application in a weekend.
Chapter 1: What You Actually Need to Build in a Hackathon
In 2026, joining a hackathon without coding skills is no longer unusual. It’s normal.
You don’t need a full engineering team.
You need the right two building blocks.
No matter what your idea is—AI tool, community app, marketplace, or internal system—every working hackathon project has the same structure.
1. Frontend: The “Vibe” Layer
This is everything the user can see and touch:
Pages and layout
Buttons and forms
Login screens and dashboards
This is where tools like Lovable are very strong.
You describe what you want in plain language, and it generates a clean, modern interface. This is why Lovable is popular in vibe coding hackathons: it helps you create apps very quickly.
2. Backend: The “Brain” Layer
This is the part most non-technical teams underestimate.
The backend handles:
Saving users to a database
Handling login and permissions
Running workflows like “if user pays, unlock feature”
Powering AI with your own data
Without this layer, your project is not an app.
It’s a slideshow.
This is also where judges start to separate demos from real products.
Chapter 2: Why Lovable + Momen Is a Good Stack for Non-Coders
Many teams try to use one tool to do everything.
That usually leads to two problems:
The UI is fast, but the logic is fragile
Or the backend is powerful, but hard to control without code
Lovable and Momen work well together because each focuses on one clear role.
The Lovable Edge: Fast AI App Generation
Lovable is an AI-powered app builder.
You describe what you want, such as:
“A clean dashboard with user profiles and a chat page.”
Lovable generates the app for you, especially the frontend, very quickly.
For non-technical founders, this matters because:
You don’t need design skills
You can generate a working app very quickly
You can reach a presentable demo on day one
This gives you the “wow” factor in a hackathon.
However, there is an important trade-off to understand.
What it actually gives you is code.
Lovable’s backend is generated as code too. When you want to change behavior, you usually need to talk to the AI again and ask it to rewrite or update that code.
For non-coders, this means:
You cannot clearly see the logic step by step
You don’t know exactly what is happening behind the scenes
The app runs, but the backend is not very visual or transparent.
That’s where Momen comes in.
The Momen Advantage: A Visual Backend You Can Control
Momen is a full-stack no-code platform, but in this stack, you mainly use it as a backend service.
In simple terms, Momen handles everything behind the scenes:
Where your data is stored
How users are authenticated
How logic workflows run
How AI agents work
The key difference for non-technical users is this:
In Momen, almost everything is configured visually.
Workflows look like a flowchart, so you can see how each step runs from start to finish.
AI agents let you visually set input, context, output, and tools, so you know exactly how the agent makes decisions and triggers actions.
The database looks like an Excel-style relational table, so you understand how data is connected.
Because everything is visible, building, customizing, and debugging your product is much clearer and more controllable for non-coders.
With this foundation in place, the roles become clear:
Lovable creates the frontend users love.
Momen runs the backend your app depends on.
Chapter 3: A Simple Step-by-Step Workflow for Hackathons
This workflow is designed for non-technical teams working under time pressure.
The goal is not to build everything.
The goal is to build one working path from UI to database.
Phase 1: Clarify What You Are Building (Before Any Design)
Before you design anything, the first step is to clarify your product idea.
Before you worry about "features," you must define the core problem. Start with these three questions to anchor your project:
Who is the user? (Identify your audience).
What is the one main action they take? (Identify the "Superpower" your app gives them).
What data must be saved? (Identify the memory of your app).
Example User Story:
“As a freelance designer (Who), I want to upload a sketch (Action) so that the AI can render it into a 3D model (Value), and I need to save it to my portfolio (Data).”
Now that you know who you are building for, you use a tool like a Requirement Analyzer (Actually built on Momen) to turn that human need into a technical blueprint. This helps you map out:
What the product should do: The high-level goals.
What core features are needed: The specific buttons and tools (e.g., "Upload button," "Processing bar").
How the system should be structured: The "plumbing"—how the frontend talks to the database and AI.
And now, you can start building.
Phase 2: Build the Backend in Momen
Before designing the UI, build the core logic first.
In Momen, this usually means setting up four foundations:
Design the data model (your app’s memory). Use the AI Data Copilot to create your main tables. A clear data model is the foundation of everything that follows.
Build the core logic. Use Action Flows (Momen’s visual workflow editor) to define how your app behaves step by step.
Set up AI agents. Configure what each agent receives as input, what tools it can use, and what output it should return.
Configure system basics. Add login, permissions, and payments if your product needs them.
At this stage, you are not chasing a perfect product.
You are making sure one complete path works:
User action → backend logic → database → result.
If this path runs, your backend foundation is ready.
You can follow a detailed step-by-step guide here: how to use Momen during a hackathon.
Phase 3: Connect Lovable to Your Momen Backend
After the backend is setup, you can connect Momen and vibe ur frontend design with Lovable. a detail guide:https://github.com/privateJiangyaokai/momen-lovable-integration
Step 1: Start with an Empty Lovable Project
When Lovable asks what to build, type:
DO NOTHING
This gives you a clean project with no assumptions.
Step 2: Teach Lovable About Your Backend
In the Knowledge tab:
Paste the Momen integration knowledge file
This teaches Lovable how Momen’s API and authentication work
This prevents random guesses later.
Step 3: Import Your Real Schema
From Momen:
Download the simplified schema
Paste it into Lovable with:
“Here is the schema for my Momen backend. Please analyze it.”
Now Lovable knows your real tables and fields.
Step 4: Build with Clear Prompts
For example:
Build a task app connected to my Momen backend.
Use email login.
Users can create projects and tasks.
From here, Lovable generates the UI and connects it to your real backend.
Chapter 4: Debugging Like a Builder, Not a Demo Maker
In hackathons, most failures happen during debugging.
Here are a few practical tips.
In Lovable
Use “Try to Fix” for small UI errors
Revert quickly if a change breaks the app
Check the console for clear error messages
Be specific in your prompts:
Bad: “It’s broken.”
Good: “Login works, but createTask returns 403.”
In Momen
After changing backend logic, always click Sync Backend
Use Logs to see where a workflow failed
Use Mirror Preview to test permissions, payments, and AI end-to-end
This is how you turn a fragile demo into a stable app.
Don’t Just Demo. Ship Something That Works.
Hackathons reward clarity, speed, and working demos more than big ideas.
Judges don’t ask how ambitious your roadmap is.
They ask one simple question:
Does it actually run?
That’s why the best teams do three things well:
Limit the scope. Build one clear use case, not ten half-finished features.
Finish the full loop. From UI → logic → database → result.
Test the real path. Login, save data, run one workflow, end to end.
When you work this way, you move beyond the surface.
You’re not just showing screens.
You’re showing a real solution to a real problem.
With the Lovable + Momen stack, many non-technical teams can go from idea to a working app in days, not months.
If you’re planning to join a hackathon without coding skills, this kind of stack is a practical place to start.
Explore Momen now for more possibility at momen.app
If you’re a student or teacher, you can also apply for Momen’s Education Program to get more benefits and support while building.
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