Dolly is an iOS app built to help women make intentional, guilt-free financial decisions around beauty spending — without sacrificing confidence, self-expression, or joy. Instead of shaming “non-essential” purchases, Dolly reframes them as choices and helps users turn small adjustments into long-term financial growth.

Click to watch the full demo on YouTube

Many women are never taught how to budget or invest — especially in ways that reflect their real lives. At the same time, recurring beauty expenses like nails, hair, and makeup are often dismissed as frivolous, even though they play a meaningful role in confidence, self-expression, and being taken seriously in professional and social spaces.

These costs add up quickly:

• Nails: $40–$80 per month
• Hair: $50+ every few months
• Ongoing beauty purchases that quietly accumulate

While each expense may seem small on its own, together they can limit a woman’s ability to save or invest consistently.

Dolly was created to change that. We realized that even small, mindful adjustments could unlock money that could be invested and grow over time. Dolly helps women understand their spending patterns and make intentional trade-offs — without guilt, shame, or judgment.

Dolly helps women:

• Set personalized financial goals
• Understand and manage recurring beauty expenses
• Receive realistic, AI-powered budgeting guidance

After setting a goal, Dolly analyzes spending patterns and suggests what to:

• Keep (the things you love)
• Reduce (small adjustments that add up)
• Adjust (timing, frequency, or alternatives)

Dolly also includes a built-in chatbot that offers ongoing support, answers questions, and makes financial planning feel less intimidating.

Once users start saving, Dolly encourages them to invest small amounts consistently by redirecting those savings into investing platforms like Robinhood. The focus is on sustainable habits — not cutting joy — and building wealth over time.

• Designed the full user experience and interface in Figma, prioritizing clarity, accessibility, and a supportive tone
• Built a native iOS app using Swift
• Integrated AI APIs to power personalized recommendations and chatbot functionality

Every design and feature decision was guided by one question: Does this feel empowering?

• Translating designs from Figma into Swift as beginner iOS developers
• Navigating API limitations and costs during a hackathon
• Integrating AI-driven logic and backend functionality within a tight timeframe

These challenges pushed us to learn quickly, prioritize thoughtfully, and focus on building a strong foundation.

• Creating a thoughtful, women-centered UI/UX that reflects real financial experiences
• Successfully building a native iOS app as beginners
• Designing and implementing an AI chatbot to make financial guidance approachable
• Building a product that addresses financial challenges often ignored or minimized

Most importantly, we created something that meets women where they are.

• How to structure and build Swift-based iOS applications from scratch
• How to integrate APIs and implement chatbot functionality
• The importance of designing financial tools that empower rather than judge
• How to realistically scope ambitious ideas in a hackathon environment

• Full integration with Robinhood so users can invest directly within the app
• Preparing Dolly for App Store launch
• Implementing secure authentication and data protection
• Expanding AI-powered personalization and long-term progress tracking
• Refining features based on real user feedback

Dolly is just getting started.

Women’s Issues • Cash-Cow • UI/UX • Most Innovative • Beginner • Best Female Hacker