Inspiration
There is real prize money set aside for creative people. Grants, contests, open calls, fellowships. Most of it never reaches them, because it sits scattered across state arts councils, foundation sites, and niche platforms nobody has time to monitor. A $5,000 literary award exists whether or not the writer it was meant for ever thinks to google it. We built Aroppo to close that gap, and the web version was recently named a Top 100 entry (of 1,400+) in the XPRIZE Build with Gemini business competition. Shipaton was the push to put it where creators actually live: their phones. Fitting, really, since the Shipaton itself is in Aroppo's catalog. We built the app that helps people find this hackathon.
What it does
Aroppo gathers hundreds of live opportunities worth tens of millions of dollars from roughly nineteen sources, re-checks them daily, and scores every listing against your craft, your skills, and your minimum prize floor, with the reasoning shown. You swipe through matches, save the ones worth your night, and get a push when a saved deadline is actually closing. Aroppo takes nothing from what you win. No cut, no commission, no finder's fee. Browsing and match scores are free, always.
How we built it
Aroppo is an Expo / React Native iOS app on the same Node.js backend as our web product, with RevenueCat powering the paywall, OneSignal powering notifications (including a re-engagement campaign created over its REST API by the AI agent that operates Aroppo, with a human approving the send), and a hand-ported design system so the app feels like the same brand in a native skin.
Challenges we ran into
Making sure the app was reviewed in time for the Shipaton.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We shipped to the App Store inside the Shipaton. Roughly two in three of our users have granted push permission, which is well above typical iOS opt-in rates.
What we learned
I learned a lot about how push notifications function in the backend and plan to implement it via OneSignal in all my other apps.
What's next for Aroppo
Deeper coverage of underserved creator niches (comics, games, craft), and richer deadline intelligence on saved listings.
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