ClearMarket

Inspiration

We built ClearMarket because stock investing can feel overwhelming for beginners, especially when financial news and analyst opinions are full of jargon. Too many people are interested in investing but feel shut out by language that seems designed for experts. We wanted to create a product that makes investing in stocks more accessible by simplifying that jargon and helping people understand what market information actually means.

What it does

ClearMarket helps users understand the stock market in plain English. It simplifies analyst opinions, financial headlines, and market news into beginner-friendly summaries, highlights sentiment and key reasons behind market movement, and explains why a story matters for investors. It also includes paper trading so users can practice investing and build confidence without risking real money.

How we built it

We built ClearMarket as a full-stack web app using Next.js for the frontend and Express for the backend. We used Supabase for database and authentication features, and integrated market/news data sources like Finnhub to pull in financial news and stock-related information. On top of that, we created flows for simplified analysis, news browsing, sentiment tagging, and paper trading so the experience felt cohesive for beginner investors.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was simplifying financial language without removing the meaning behind it. Finance is nuanced, so we had to make explanations easy to understand while still keeping them useful and accurate. We also ran into challenges connecting multiple parts of the stack, including frontend pages, backend APIs, third-party market data, and database-backed user features like portfolios and watchlists. Making all of these pieces work together smoothly was a major technical hurdle.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that we built a product with a clear mission: making stock investing more accessible for beginners. We created a platform that does more than just display information. It translates complex financial content into plain language, gives users context on market sentiment, and provides a safe environment for learning through paper trading. We are especially proud that the product feels approachable and aligned with the real needs of first-time investors.

What we learned

We learned a lot about building and connecting a full-stack product under hackathon-style time pressure. On the technical side, we learned how to integrate modern frontend tools with backend services, external APIs, and database systems. On the product side, we learned that accessibility in fintech is not just about UI design, but also about communication. If users cannot understand the language of investing, they cannot fully participate in it.

What's next for ClearMarket

Next, we want to make ClearMarket even more useful and personalized. That includes improving the quality of our simplified explanations, expanding live market and stock analysis features, and strengthening the paper trading experience with deeper portfolio insights. We also want to build more personalized learning and recommendation features so ClearMarket can become a long-term guide for beginner investors, not just a one-time tool.

Built With

• api
• express.js
• finnhub
• javascript
• next.js
• node.js
• react
• supabase
• tailwindcss
• typescript
• yahoo-finance