Brainstorming

Inspiration

This is my first hackathon. When I started, one of the hardest parts was deciding what to build. Getting more random ideas did not help me understand who needed my project or whether it would solve a real problem.

I built Brainstorming to help students work through those decisions, one question at a time.

What it does

Brainstorming asks eight focused questions about your problem, the people affected, what they do now, your idea, the first features, the expected improvement, your assumptions, and your first test.

Each question includes three answer suggestions that you can edit. Your answers appear in an interactive idea map. At the end, you get a project brief showing what you want to build, who it is for, and what you should test first.

Your progress stays saved in the same browser, so you can reload the page and continue.

How I built it

I used Next.js, React, and TypeScript for the app, React Flow for the idea map, and Zod to validate the saved data. The project is hosted on Vercel.

The public demo uses a built-in coach with local rules. It does not make live AI requests. The final brief comes from the user's answers, and sessions are stored in the browser.

The code includes optional AI and Supabase integrations, but these are not enabled in the public demo.

I used AI tools to help with coding and design. The landing-page illustration and project cover were AI-generated.

Challenges

The biggest challenge was keeping the questions useful without making the app feel like a long form. I reduced the flow to eight questions and added editable answer suggestions.

I also worked on keeping answers connected to the correct questions, showing actual responses in the map, and making sure progress survived a reload.

The interface went through several changes to make answering questions easier on both desktop and mobile.

What I learned

I learned that building a project is more than writing code. Choosing a clear user, limiting the first version, and making the next step understandable are just as important.

I also learned to separate what works today from what still needs testing. A finished project brief is a starting point for testing an idea, not proof that people need it.

What I am proud of

I completed a working public demo with the question flow, answer suggestions, idea map, project brief, and browser saving.

The production build, lint checks, and 21 regression tests passed.

Business idea

I would keep the basic student version free. A future paid version could help student clubs, hackathon organizers, and campus incubators run workshops with shared workspaces and mentor feedback.

I would test a price of $15 per organization per month by speaking with five organizers and running a small workshop. This is a proposal, not an existing paid service.

What's next

First, I want five student builders to try the app and tell me where they get confused and whether the brief helps them choose what to build.

After that, I would explore account-based saving and organization workspaces. Before enabling live AI coaching, I would add shared usage limits and cost controls.

Built With

• css
• flow
• next.js
• react
• typescript
• zod