Boyscout

We provied merit badges for events that are created on partiful to be made among hacker house members and shared on partiful and our custom platform for hacker house sites

How we built itInspiration

The inspiration for Boyscout came from observing the disconnect in hacker house communities. While tech workers and startup founders were flocking to co-living spaces and collaborative environments, there was no dedicated platform to facilitate meaningful connections beyond surface-level networking. We noticed people using fragmented solutions - Partiful for parties, LinkedIn for professional networking, and various group chats for house coordination. The "boyscout" ethos - being prepared and helping others - perfectly captured the community spirit we wanted to foster in these spaces where builders live and create together.

What it does

Boyscout is a social networking platform that bridges the gap between Partiful's event coordination and professional networking for the hacker house community. It uses an intelligent matching agent to connect residents, visitors, and event attendees based on their skills, interests, and current projects. Users can create and RSVP to house events, find potential collaborators for late-night coding sessions, coordinate shared resources, and build lasting connections within the tech community. The platform makes it easy to discover who's working on what, schedule impromptu hackathons, and maintain relationships even after moving between houses. How we built it We built Boyscout using a modern tech stack optimized for real-time interactions and AI-powered matching. The frontend uses React with a mobile-first design inspired by Partiful's Gen Z-friendly aesthetic. Our backend runs on Node.js with WebSocket connections for instant messaging and event updates. The matching agent leverages OpenAI's API to analyze user profiles, project descriptions, and interaction patterns to suggest meaningful connections. We integrated calendar APIs for seamless event scheduling and implemented a reputation system to encourage positive community behavior. The entire platform is containerized for easy deployment across different hacker house networks.

Accomplishments that we're proud of:

Basically allowing a cross intergration between the site for merit badges and partiful and home site We learned that the hacker house community craves authentic connections over transactional networking. The most successful features were those that reduced friction rather than adding complexity - simple profile creation, one-tap RSVPs, and natural conversation starters based on shared interests. We discovered that timing is everything; our late-night "insomnia matching" feature became unexpectedly popular as developers sought coding buddies during their most productive hours. We also learned that community moderation works best when it's peer-driven rather than top-down, leading us to implement a "scout badge" system for community recognition.

What's next for Boyscout:

We're planning to expand beyond individual hacker houses to create a global network of tech communities. Next features include a "house swap" program for digital nomads, integration with popular developer tools like GitHub for automatic project discovery, and enhanced event analytics for community managers. We're exploring partnerships with established hacker houses in major tech hubs and developing a sustainable monetization model through premium features for house operators. Long-term, we envision Boyscout becoming the default social layer for the builder community - where your next co-founder, employee, or lifelong friend is just one matched connection away.

Built With

• python
• typescript
• vercel