LiveLink

AI recommendation page
Personal profile page
Activities page (empty)
Adding activity window
Activities page (filled)
Group photo of the team

Inspiration

We believe life is way too short to stay stuck inside our screens! ✨ Inspired by the spontaneous magic of our childhood and teenage years, when one quick text could turn into a whole adventure, we wanted to bring that spark back with LiveLink. LiveLink was created to help people step away from endless scrolling and say yes to real-life hangouts, laughter, and unforgettable moments. We’re here to remind you that connection is meant to be fun, playful, and full of life!

What it does

LiveLink is a joyful social app that helps you stop scrolling and start hanging out — in real life! 🌟 Instead of sitting behind a screen, LiveLink encourages you to step out, make plans, and create fun, spontaneous moments with friends.

With LiveLink, you can:

Post and join activities you’re excited to do (like grabbing boba, going to a concert, or planning a last-minute study session) 🎶🍵✏️
Explore recommended activities that match your vibe and invite others to join 💫
Share fun photos and memories from your hangouts 📸✨
Build real connections through a friend system (no followers, just mutual, meaningful friendships!) 💕
Sign up easily and safely with phone authentication 🔒📱

LiveLink brings back the magic of saying “let’s go!” and actually getting out there — turning everyday plans into exciting, in-person adventures. 🌷🎉

How we built it

We initially used Figma for design, and built the app with React, Vite, and Liveshare. Later, we streamlined our workflow by switching to GitHub for version control, and built the backend with Node.js. We integrated the Cohere API for recommendations, and used NumVerify and Twilio for phone number verification. Python was also used for additional backend services and processing.

Challenges and Growth

All of us were pretty new at using React and public APIs, and all of us have done at most one hackathon. Much of our challenges came from navigating these new topics. On the frontend side, Sophia had to teach herself how to use React during the entirety of the hackathon, and Jolene navigated through Figma and struggled on translating it to our website’s frontend. Kaelyn had a lot of difficulty finding what APIs to use and how to access them and apply them properly. There were at least five different APIs she had to learn how to use before realizing they wouldn’t be appropriate for the project. Bihan struggled with using different APIs as well, and was working with two different APIs before focusing on just one. In addition to working with these unfamiliar environments and languages, we all had trouble working with GitHub and figuring out an efficient way to work on the same project without getting in each other’s way. It took a lot of headaches and accidental overwriting before we were able to commit, push, and pull without destroying each other’s progress.

All of our challenges were solved with sheer determination and communication. Jolene and Sophia pushed through and were eventually able to learn Figma and React enough to develop the frontend properly, and Kaelyn and Bihan were able to navigate through their APIs and integrate them into the project. Regarding the issue of GitHub, after properly discussing which files each person would work on and when to push/pull without ruining each other’s code, the rest of the hackathon progressed without too much struggle.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Successfully building a secure, smooth phone authentication system
Creating an intuitive app experience that encourages real-life connection
Collaborating as a team to learn new technologies and solve tough problems
Bringing our shared vision of fun, spontaneous hangouts to life

What we learned

Teamwork truly makes the dream work! 🤝 We discovered that combining our strengths and supporting each other lets us overcome any obstacle. Beyond coding, we learned the power of social connection, both in our app’s mission and in how we worked together. Building something meaningful is always better when you do it with friends.

What's next for LiveLink

Enhancing our recommendation system to make planning even easier
Adding new ways to reward users and celebrate their hangouts
Exploring partnerships with local spots to bring exclusive in-app perks
Continuing to grow the community and inspire more spontaneous, in-person connections!