tiny Trove

tiny Trove logo
tiny Trove Colour Scheme
tiny Trove Lo-Fi
tiny Trove Hi-Fi

Inspiration

When brainstorming ideas for our project, we were stumped, the community was so broad there were so many audiences and problems we could try to create a solution for. So we decided to think about ourselves, what problems we have, and what communities are we in? Anika loves cute collectibles, but outside of the most popular faces, it’s difficult to find merchandise for tiny characters like Hanamaruobake… But stores do exist, it's just a whole hunt to find them. Cameron faced the challenge of tracking Pokemon card drops, updates are random, or even hidden behind paywalls. Being in a niche community is fun until you actually try to buy something but fail to find anything. So what if we created a space where these niche communities can help each other. tinyTrove is created to bring these informations together giving every community, no matter how small and hidden a space to share and discover.

What it does

TinyTrove is a community-driven platform where users can join fan groups such as Pokémon, Sanrio or Minecraft. Within each community, users interact through “treasures”, specific items or collectibles like pop mart blind boxes, Pikachu stuffed toys and much more. Members can post their finds, tagging both the treasure, community and a real world location where you can find it! This allows users to keep up with recent discoveries through the community feed and easily find items through the map-based view. By combining social sharing with location data, TinyTrove transforms scattered information into a practical, local discovery tool.

How we built it

TinyTrove is a mobile application built using React Native with TypeScript, running through Expo for rapid development and testing on physical devices. We used Supabase to manage our backend, including database storage and image hosting. This allowed us to efficiently handle user-generated content such as posts, profiles, and uploaded images. We also placed strong emphasis on UI/UX design, ensuring the app feels approachable and engaging. Since the app is built for passionate communities, we wanted the interface to reflect that same sense of care and personality.

Challenges we ran into

The pitch was the hardest part, as software engineering students, we love to code! Marketing.. filming.. acting.. simply figuring out how to sell our product was hard. We really jumped outside our comfort zone for this.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a platform that gives niche communities a space to grow, connect, and feel seen.
Got most of our core features up and running within the hackathon timeframe, which we’re really proud of.
Created a UI that feels friendly, welcoming, and fun to use.
For many of us, this was our first time building a mobile app, so we’re especially proud of how far we got in such a short time.
## What we learned
How to prioritise core features vs. “nice-to-haves” when working under a tight time constraint.
The importance of constantly communicating progress so everyone stays aligned—especially when everything’s moving fast during a 48-hour hackathon.
## What's next for tiny Trove Improving our map and discovery features to make finding content easier and more fun. Adding notifications for new posts, nearby finds, and updates (like new stock alerts). Expanding community tools, including moderation features to support healthy and safe spaces. Launching the app on official app stores so we can start building a real, active community.