Inspiration
We were inspired by the impact COVID-19 had on small businesses. The immediate shutdown of the world highlighted the financial fragility of many small businesses as well as the lack of customers due to COVID-19 disruptions. However, many startups and local businesses also launched at this time as people began to commercialize their hobbies and talents. As computer science students, we are passionate about inclusivity and believed that a platform that would help all entrepreneurs begin their endeavors would be beneficial.
What it does
Our platform BuzzMarket helps small businesses grow by one, suggesting non-profits from our database that match loans to how much money these businesses need. Additionally, businesses are able to create accounts on our website and thus we are able to take in basic company information to share with other small businesses on a feed. Users can filter the feed based on industry to connect with other businesses.
How we built it
Using Visual Studio Code and Git Repository, we built our website using mainly HTML, CSS, and JS files collaboratively. We built our UI design around the logo name BuzzMarket containing black, yellow, and white as the main color scheme throughout the website for consistency. In addition, we used the same layouts across pages to create an easy space to use our services with a clean & smooth flow. On the backend side, we handled transferring elements in the same page, interacting with visibility, variable manipulation, and user input for a better experience. We had a clear focus on User Experience as clients are always #1.
Challenges we ran into
One of our main challenges was time management. We spent a lot of time on the front-end, trying to perfect the design layout to be the most user friendly and appealing. However, the back-end, something neither of us have done much of, was challenging to code for the user registration and microloan data and we felt like we needed more time. Another challenge we faced was within our team. One of our team members fell down Friday night and was taken to the hospital by another team member Saturday morning. She ended up breaking her ankle and had to leave to go home, so it was definitely an adjustment to re-distribute the work and complete the project together as a team online.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We believe we had a great ideation process- we were constantly churning out thoughts for features and how to approach our design. Also, collectively as a group, we had very little experience in web development and believed our execution of the front end was great for our limited knowledge in html, javascript, and css. Although our backend does not seamlessly function, we are proud we attempted and followed through with it as we learned so much! Finally, we are so proud of each other- our team dedication was strong and we were happy to be surrounded by so many other motivated, passionate students!
What we learned
Coming in with little web development experience, we sharpened our HTML and CSS skills while learning JavaScript and Node.JS concepts on the go. A huge thing we learned over these past 36 hours (and now will be a tool to us) was how to utilize gitHub to work together efficiently.
What's next for BuzzMarket
We want to make BuzzMarket a more data-driven service by implementing a server side. This would mean implementing more small businesses in our network while also adding more microloans to our database. We also want to create an additional resources page with other opportunities of financial guidance for small businesses.
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