Dolly | Devpost

AI Chatbot

Inspiration

Many women are never taught how to budget or invest, while also facing recurring expenses that disproportionately affect them. Costs such as nails, hair, and makeup are often dismissed as unnecessary, even though they play a real role in confidence, self-expression, and being taken seriously in professional and social environments. These expenses add up quickly. Nails can cost between $40 and $80 per month, haircuts often cost $50 or more every few months, and other beauty-related purchases accumulate over time. While each cost may seem small on its own, together they can significantly limit a woman’s ability to save or invest. We realized that even small adjustments or better budgeting decisions could unlock money that could be invested consistently and grow over time. Dolly was created to help women make intentional financial choices around beauty spending without guilt, shame, or judgment.

What it does

Dolly is an iOS app that helps women set financial goals and receive personalized guidance for managing recurring beauty expenses. After a user sets a goal, Dolly uses AI to analyze their spending patterns and provide realistic, personalized budgeting recommendations focused on what to keep, reduce, or adjust. Dolly also includes a built-in chatbot that allows users to ask questions and receive ongoing support throughout their budgeting journey. Once users begin saving money, the app encourages them to invest small amounts consistently by redirecting those savings into investing platforms such as Robinhood. Dolly emphasizes mindful trade-offs rather than eliminating things users care about, helping them build sustainable financial habits over time.

How we built it

We designed the entire user experience and interface in Figma, prioritizing clarity, accessibility, and a supportive tone tailored specifically to women. We then began translating these designs into a native iOS application using Swift. To enable personalization and conversational guidance, we integrated APIs to support AI-powered recommendations and chatbot functionality.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges we faced was transitioning from design in Figma to implementation in Swift, particularly as beginners in iOS development. We also encountered limitations due to the cost of many APIs, which restricted how fully we could implement certain AI features during the hackathon. Additionally, integrating AI-driven logic and backend functionality within a limited timeframe required rapid learning and careful prioritization.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are especially proud of our Figma high-fidelity prototype with strong front-end design and thoughtful UI and UX that we created, which centers women’s experiences and financial realities. As beginners, starting to build a native iOS app was a major achievement. We also conceptualized and implemented an AI chatbot experience, showing how conversational interfaces can make financial tools more approachable and less intimidating. Most importantly, we created a product that directly addresses financial challenges that are often ignored or minimized.

What we learned

Through building Dolly, we learned how to set up and structure Swift-based iOS applications from scratch. We gained hands-on experience integrating APIs and implementing chatbot functionality. We also learned how important it is to design financial tools that feel empowering rather than judgmental, as well as how to scope ambitious ideas realistically within a hackathon environment.

What's next for Dolly

Our next steps include fully integrating Dolly with Robinhood so users can invest directly within the app. We plan to prepare Dolly for launch on the App Store and implement secure authentication features such as password protection and data security. In the future, we want to expand AI-powered personalization, add long-term budgeting and progress tracking, and continue refining the product based on user feedback.