brew

Inspiration

We saw that students were around amazing people every day, but they didn't make real connections with anyone outside of their group of friends. Career fairs felt like business deals, cold emails went unanswered, and LinkedIn was made for a world that students hadn't entered yet. We kept coming back to one thought: the best chances in life come from talking to the right people in person. The research of Harvard economist Raj Chetty, published in Nature (2022), validated our intuitive perceptions. His study of 72 million users found that peer connections across classes are the best predictor of economic mobility, better than income inequality and racial segregation. But in his next study, he found a "friending bias," which means that people don't usually make friends naturally, even when they are in the same place. Brew was made to fill that gap.

What it does

Brew is a mobile networking app for students who want to make meaningful connections with people at the same stage of life. Users create a profile with their major, year, college, and interests, get AI powered matches with compatible students, and coordinate coffee chats directly in the app. The matching algorithm surfaces compatibility scores and personalises each connection so every introduction feels intentional, not random.

How we built it

We built Brew using Python for the backend logic, Supabase as our database and authentication layer, and APIs to connect everything together. The frontend was designed as a mobile first experience, prioritising simplicity and warmth in the UI and branding to reflect the casual, human nature of a coffee chat.

Challenges we ran into

The two biggest technical challenges were integrating the frontend with Supabase and fixing bugs in the onboarding flow. Both took longer than expected and required a lot of iteration. We leaned heavily on AI assisted debugging and prompting to work through both, which ended up becoming a core part of how we built throughout the hackathon.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of building a functional app in a short timeframe that genuinely addresses a real problem. The matching flow and messaging system all work together seamlessly. Beyond the product itself, we are proud of grounding Brew in real research. Studies show that $85\%$ of jobs are filled through referrals (Jumpstart Magazine) and that $70\%$ of roles are never publicly advertised, meaning relationship-building is not optional for career success, it is essential. Building something with that kind of social impact behind it felt meaningful.

What we learned

We learned that the hardest part of building is not the idea, it is the integration. Getting different systems to talk to each other cleanly takes more time than you expect. We also learned how powerful AI tools are as a development partner, not just for writing code but for thinking through problems, debugging edge cases, and moving faster. And we learned that research backed product thinking makes you a better builder. Knowing why something matters pushes you to get the details right.

What's next for brew

The next step is expanding Brew beyond hackathon mode into a real campus product. We want to add event based matching, where students connect around shared workshops or talks, and build out a scheduling integration so coffee chats can be booked without leaving the app. Longer term, we see Brew becoming the connective tissue of campus life, the layer underneath classes and clubs that helps students actually build the relationships that shape their futures. We want students to experience and built real connections before they enter the job market officially.

Built With

• api
• claude
• loveable
• python
• supabase