moneyPool

Introducing moneyPool, a web platform for crowdfunding communal essentials with cost-splitting and automatic transactions. Like carpooling, but for saving money. Make your community more comfortable!

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Inspiration

From college students to emerging adults, many of us find ourselves on a tight budget. However, this shouldn’t mean people have to live uncomfortably. We were inspired by the limited accessibility to everyday products. By helping people easily split costs of purchasing communal essentials, we alleviate the cost burden on each individual, encouraging communities to help each other to create a better living environment. This helps reduce food waste, overspending, and pollution that comes with manufacturing those extra demands from customers.

What it does

MoneyPool gathers people in the same living community with a common purchase interest. If an individual wants to purchase a specific item for communal use, they can create a post on our site, detailing the item, total cost, number of participants and additional info. By having a person create a post of a specific task/appliance to purchase, users can opt-in to help fund the project, allowing cost to be evenly distributed. Once the number of participants is reached, the transaction is automatically fulfilled, at no additional effort from any of the participants. Overconsumption in the market economy has negative ecological impacts and hurts the climate due to overproduction and waste. With moneyPool, users can build a community that reduces overconsumption while alleviating multiple individuals’ financial burden.

How we built it

We designed high-fidelity prototypes in Figma to visually layout our interface. The frontend was built using React (HTML and CSS), while the backend was done using JavaScript. We used Paypal’s API to complete our payment transaction process on our website.

Challenges we ran into

Brainstorming the algorithm and user flow Implementing PayPal’s API Creating an account system and storing into a database

Accomplishments that we're proud of

This was the first hackathon for all four of us - woohoo! Max: Integrating the PayPal API with our web app and working with other developers and designers Lauren: Working with a team and making a big project like this for the first time! Jessica: UI/UX design and idea implementation and project management Hannah: Working with developers for the first time as a designer

What we learned

We learned that a team can be incredibly powerful. Everyone has their own unique skillsets, and together, an innovative tool can be created. We navigated and learned how to collaborate within a team as developers and designers. For us, this wasn't just a chance to learn new skills, but also an opportunity to make lasting memories. In the span of these 36 hours, we went from strangers to teammates to friends. Although Max somehow thought that Jessica was named Rebecca on Sunday morning...

What's next for moneyPool

MoneyPool has the potential for a wide range of applications, from using it to split all kinds of bills between groups of people, to making an institution/organization-wide to fund for large scale projects. More on the short term side, there can be some additions to the backend of the site, from creating a higher level of bank authentication or payment system, or project-specific URLs to make posts easily shareable. Our current prototype is a clear demonstration about the core function of the website.

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