WoWie

Mockup of pop-up. Extension changes from left frame to right frame. Note that numbers are invented.

Inspiration

In recent articles about the untapped potential of women’s wealth, McKinsey noted that younger women are especially hard to reach and that giving them access to financial education and advice early in their wealth journey is especially important.

This made us think: what do many women love to do? And how can we meet them where they are? Enter, online shopping. In Canada, 52% of online shoppers are women. As online shopping continues to grow, this will also increase, as 89% of women claim responsibility for daily household shopping. In addition, 73% of online sales revenue in 2020 came from purchases made using a desktop or a laptop. These insights allow us to address the specific needs and behaviors of women.

What it does

Our solution, WoWie, is a web extension that nudges women to start their investing journey through mindful messages at the point of purchase of their favourite online products. We’re not trying to solve everything, but rather bridge the 0 to 1 gap where women who are neither aware nor confident can take the first steps towards investing in their future. A sassy yet friendly tone inspires women to learn and care about their wealth from a young age, being aware of its impact in the long run.

How It's Built

The fully integrated Chrome Extension (React/TypeScript) is backed by a high-speed FastAPI Python service. Our Real-Time Contextual Engine (RCE) uses JavaScript content scripts to dynamically scrape the item price and cart total from the shopping page. This data, combined with the user's personal financial profile, is fed into the backend's core logic. The Python service runs a AI-driven investment model that fetches real-time stock data, calculates the "Years Until Free" opportunity cost, and delivers a highly personalized, empathetic "Girl Math" narrative.

Challenges we ran into

Successfully bridging the secure, cross-context communication gap between the local FastAPI server and the Chrome Extension's unique origin
Developing resilient DOM traversal algorithms for the RCE to consistently and accurately scrape prices across diverse e-commerce website structures.
Implementing a custom in-memory caching layer in Python to manage external financial API calls and maintain sub-second response times.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We built a full-stack vertical integration and end-to-end functionality within the hackathon timeframe. This included the successful deployment of a three-layer application: the browser, the extension, and a high-performance FastAPI Python backend. The project's highlight is the design and implementation of the unique, impactful "Years Until Free" metric, which converts abstract financial opportunity cost into a clear, motivational financial target for the user. Finally, we executed an approachable, modern UI/UX that transforms complex financial data into an accessible, personalized dashboard, making investing less intimidating and more engaging.

What we learned

Technically, we gained expertise in deploying and optimizing a high-performance FastAPI microservice for asynchronous I/O and seamless external API integration. Architecturally, we mastered the nuances of Chrome Extension design which was a new challenge for all of us, understanding the critical necessity of separating logic for permissions, UI, and dynamic webpage interaction. Most importantly, we validated the principles of Behavioral Finance, proving that personalization and empathetic framing are exceptionally powerful tools for driving proactive, long-term financial engagement.

What's next for WoWie

Integrate an AI-Powered Predictor to use LLMs for dynamic, current-market-based growth rate forecasting
Implement a simulated brokerage API integration to enable users to instantly route saved funds into the recommended ethical portfolio.
Expand the RCE to scrape full product context (description/image) for hyper-specific, sector-aligned stock recommendations.