Stacks

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  Landing page

Inspiration

Watching our friends struggle with student debt, credit card mistakes, and limited financial literacy sparked our mission. Traditional banking apps feel cold and transactional, they tell you what you spent but never teach you how to build wealth. We realized the solution needed three things: personalized AI coaching, complete transparency, and motivation through rewards. The name "Stacks" represents our core belief: we're not just stacking money, but stacking knowledge, trust, and financial confidence for the next generation.

What it does

Stacks is an AI-powered financial wellness platform that combines personalized coaching with blockchain transparency. Our AI analyzes spending patterns, creates custom budgets, and explains complex financial concepts in conversational language. Every recommendation is logged on blockchain for complete transparency, no hidden fees or biased advice. Users earn blockchain tokens for hitting financial milestones, which can be redeemed for real rewards or invested in fractionalized assets. It's like having a financial advisor, transparency watchdog, and rewards program all in one app.

How we built it

Frontend: React (TypeScript and CSS) for cross-platform web experience AI Engine: Google Gemini API for conversational financial coaching and spending analysis Blockchain: Sophisticated blockchain methods to keep track of token rewards Backend: Next.js with Supabase for API management Database: PostgreSQL for user data and transaction history Banking Integration: Plaid API for secure bank account connections Authentication: Auth0 for secure user management

Challenges we ran into

Blockchain Integration: Setting up smart contracts for both transparency logging and token rewards while keeping gas fees reasonable was complex. We had to optimize our contract architecture multiple times. AI Prompt Engineering: Creating an AI that gives responsible financial advice without being overly conservative took extensive testing and prompt refinement. Real-time Banking Data: Integrating Plaid's API while ensuring data privacy and creating meaningful insights from transaction data required careful data processing. User Experience: Balancing the complexity of blockchain features with an intuitive mobile interface that doesn't overwhelm non-tech users.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Built a working AI coach that provides genuinely helpful, personalized financial advice
• Implemented blockchain transparency where users can verify every recommendation
• Created a functional token reward system that actually incentivizes good financial habits
• Achieved seamless bank integration with real transaction analysis
• Designed an intuitive UX that makes complex finance/blockchain concepts accessible
• Solved a real problem - we tested with 5 friends who said they'd actually use this daily

What we learned

Technical: Responsible AI prompt engineering, and the complexity of financial data APIs. User-Centered Design: Financial apps must feel trustworthy and simple, even when using cutting-edge tech like AI and blockchain. Team Collaboration: Balancing rapid prototyping with thorough testing, especially when dealing with financial data and blockchain transactions. Blockchain: Researched how to keep users data both secure and accurate through the process of blockchaining and encrypting their data. Keeping only the most important data OnChain to be accessed by the user and reviewer only.

What's next for Stacks

Short-term: Add credit score tracking, debt payoff optimization, and expanded token redemption partnerships. Medium-term: Implement AI-driven investment portfolio recommendations and peer-to-peer micro-lending features. Long-term: Partner with universities for financial literacy programs, expand to include small business financial coaching, and develop our own stablecoin for rewards. Our vision: Make Stacks the go-to platform where young adults learn, practice, and excel at personal finance through AI guidance, blockchain transparency, and gamified rewards.

Built With

• css
• figma
• google-gemini-api
• next.js
• plaid-api
• postgressql
• react
• shadcn
• supabase
• tailwindcss
• typescript