YouthLink

Landing page
Create Acount
Complete your Profile
Family Dashboard
Create a Task
My Tasks
Complete your Profile (Youth)
Youth Dashboard
Youth Dashboard Verified
Youth after accepting a task
Youth in Chat with Family
Family seeing Task was accepted
Family Responding in Chat with Youth
Family marking the Task as "Completed"

Inspiration

YouthLink was inspired by a clear problem we experienced ourselves while growing up in Lisbon: families often need quick, trustworthy help for everyday tasks, but reliable options do not exist. WhatsApp groups are chaotic, neighborhood recommendations depend entirely on personal networks, and online posts feel unsafe. At the same time, youth aged 16–21 want to earn money but lack visibility, structure, and a safe way to connect with opportunities. Two groups that need each other simply have no organized platform to meet.

What it does

YouthLink is a hyperlocal micro-job marketplace where families can post simple tasks—like dog walking, babysitting, tutoring, errands, or tech help—and verified youth can accept them instantly. Families can post a task in under 30 seconds, youth see tasks in real time, and both sides communicate through safe in-app messaging. The platform is designed to be fast, simple, and trust-driven.

How we built it

YouthLink was built using Bolt.new as our AI-assisted full-stack environment. The frontend uses React and TypeScript, while Supabase handles authentication, database actions, and real-time updates. We implemented role-based dashboards for families and youth, a live task feed, instant acceptance flows, and a built-in real-time chat system. The UI is fully responsive and optimized for mobile use, since most youth rely on phones.

Challenges we ran into

Our biggest challenges were managing role-based authentication, syncing task states in real time between youth and families, and integrating a stable chat feature without overcomplicating permissions. Working under hackathon time pressure forced us to keep the system lean and avoid unnecessary features that could break stability. Several times we had to refactor flows entirely because youth and family interactions weren’t syncing cleanly. These challenges ultimately improved our product.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud that in under five days we built a fully functional end-to-end MVP that demonstrates the core value of YouthLink: families can post micro-tasks, verified youth can browse and accept them instantly, and both sides can communicate through a built-in chat system. We also implemented role-based authentication, a real-time task feed, and verification flows that mirror the real marketplace we envision. Beyond the technical build, we validated the concept through interviews with both families and youth, which shaped our product decisions and confirmed that the problem is real, frequent, and underserved. Achieving this level of clarity and functionality in such a short time is what we consider our strongest accomplishment.

What we learned

We learned how important ruthless scoping is in a short, high-pressure build. Instead of chasing every idea, we focused on one core action: families post tasks, youth accept tasks. We also learned how central trust and safety are to both sides of the marketplace. On the technical side, we gained hands-on experience using AI tools to accelerate development, integrating Supabase with custom logic, and building a functional vertical slice of a marketplace in just a few days.

What's next for YouthLink

Next, YouthLink will focus on deepening trust and safety—adding ratings and reviews, guardian consent for users under 18, background check options, and a reliability score to reduce no-shows. We plan to integrate secure in-app payments and an optional insurance or coverage layer similar to Airbnb, ensuring transparent, safe transactions for both sides. On the product side, we’ll introduce optional youth introduction videos and location-based matching, making task coordination even easier. Once these foundations are solid, YouthLink will expand from Campo de Ourique to neighboring areas of Lisbon, scaling the model one community at a time. Our long-term vision is a fully trusted local ecosystem that connects youth and families across Portugal.