mockup for the login page
White board mockups for the website
create new goal modal
different themes connected to a specific goal, a progress bar
Specific goal page, amount, contribution, history
login page
Dashboard

Inspiration

Every gamified savings app works the same way: grow a plant, feed a pet, fill a jar. One metaphor, handed to every user. The problem is that people aren't motivated the same way. Some get discouraged the first time a plant wilts and quit. Some never feel any pressure and drift off. The app only works for the people it happened to be built for and everyone else assumes it's their fault.

We wanted to build a savings app that admits this. Instead of one mechanic for everyone, you pick the one that fits you.

What it does

Ante is a savings-goal app where you choose how you want to be motivated.

Set a goal : what you're saving for, target amount, contribution frequency
Ante auto-calculates your schedule: "$50 every week for 24 weeks"
Pick your nudge : a theme built on a specific psychological driver
Log contributions and watch your goal's animated journey move toward the payoff
Add a photo to each goal so you're saving toward the real thing, not an abstract bar

The nudges

Theme	Driver	Built for
The Lotus	Positive reinforcement — only grows, never wilts	People who get discouraged and quit
The Hungry Pup	Responsibility — something depends on you	People who need a reason to open the app
The Long Ride	Tangible reward — watch the goal get closer	People who like seeing progress
The Thirsty Crow	Urgency — act now, not someday	People who don't move without a push

Same savings engine underneath. Different nudge on top.

How we built it

React + Vite for the app, Tailwind CSS for styling
Framer Motion and Lottie for each theme's animated journey

The themes map to real motivational drivers from behavioral psychology. The Lotus and the Pup are intrinsic (growth, care). The Long Ride and the Crow are extrinsic (reward, pressure). Most apps only pull one lever; Ante lets you pick.

Challenges we ran into

Making the themes genuinely different. The whole idea falls apart if the Lotus and the Pup are the same mechanic with different art. Each one needed its own progress logic, its own animation, and its own payoff moment.
Scope. With 55 hours and three people, every hour on a fifth feature was an hour not spent polishing the first four. We cut a lot.
Animation without a designer. We coded every journey in SVG and Framer Motion instead of using pre-made assets, so progress could drive the animation directly from a percentage.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Four working, distinct themes in a weekend
A contribution schedule that calculates itself from a target and frequency
A visual identity that doesn't look like a hackathon project — built around a playing-card motif (the ante is the small bet you put in before the hand starts) and kept consistent from logo to loading states

What we learned

The differentiator in a crowded category isn't a better version of the same thing — it's questioning the assumption everyone shares. Every savings app assumed one motivation style fits all. Once we stopped assuming that, the product designed itself.