ETF Generator - Build Your Own Thematic ETF

This was my first-ever coding project — and I’ve never written a line of code before in my life. I built everything using Bolt.new, it helped me go from an idea to a working product faster than I ever imagined possible.

Inspiration

I’ve always been fascinated by thematic investing — spotting emerging trends like AI, clean energy, or the Metaverse and building portfolios around them. But I noticed there wasn’t an easy way to turn those ideas into a personalized ETF, especially for regular retail investors like me. That’s what inspired me to build this tool: AI-powered ETF generator that lets anyone create a custom thematic ETF based on their own interests and convictions.

What I Learned

How to think in terms of user flow and app structure
The basics of frontend and backend connections — all without writing code
How powerful AI tools like Bolt can be for first-timers
Importance of clear UX and iterative design

How I Built It

No code — everything was built with Bolt.new
Used *OpenAI’s ChatGPT API * to generate stock lists and ETF suggestions
Integrated real stock market data using an FMP API
Built user accounts with database and authentication with Supabase
Deployed the project live with Netlify and connected a custom domain
Added a pricing page and Stripe integration for optional Pro upgrades

Challenges I Faced

Learning how to troubleshoot deployment issues without prior dev experience
Structuring pages properly while balancing between logged-in and logged-out states

Final Thoughts

This hackathon gave me the confidence to start building and shipping ideas even without technical background. If I can build something like this on my first try with just AI tools — anyone can.

Thanks for reading and trying out my ETF Generator! 🙌