iLOCA

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Inspiration

Choosing a business location is one of the first—and most expensive—decisions a new business owner must make. Yet information about footfall, competitors, developments and available properties is scattered across maps, listing platforms and government websites. We created iLOCA after asking: How might we help first-time business owners compare potential locations with greater clarity and confidence?

What it does

iLoca brings all of that scattered research into one place. Instead of manually cross-referencing five different websites, iLoca pulls together:

Foot traffic patterns
Nearby competitor density
Local demographics
Property listings and lease terms
Development and building approval activity And surfaces it as a single, interactive location-intelligence view, so users can shortlist and book inspections with confidence instead of guesswork.

How we built it

We began with a business-owner journey map and a storyboard following Maya, a first-time café owner overwhelmed by fragmented location information. This helped us identify the most important MVP features. We designed the interface in Figma and developed the macOS prototype using Xcode and SwiftUI. The map experience was designed around Apple’s mapping capabilities, including 3D location exploration. For the hackathon prototype, we used indicative location data to demonstrate footfall, nearby competitors and surrounding developments. We also designed an on-device intelligence layer that can evaluate selected location factors and produce a suitability score. Keeping this analysis local can improve responsiveness and reduce the need to send sensitive business preferences to an external server.

Challenges we ran into

Our biggest challenge was pre-processing combining different types of location information into one experience without overwhelming the user. Footfall, competition and development activity are measured differently, so they cannot simply be compared as equal numbers. We also had to balance ambition with hackathon constraints. Accurate commercial rent, vacancy and real-time footfall data normally require external data providers and partnerships. For this reason, our MVP uses indicative data and clearly communicates its limitations. Finally, as a two-person team, we had to divide our time carefully between research, UX design, development, data logic and pitch preparation.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that we transformed a broad business problem into a focused and demonstrable product within the hackathon timeframe. Our prototype provides an end-to-end journey: users enter their business needs, filter potential areas, explore locations on a 2D or 3D map and review key location indicators in one place. We are also proud of creating a friendly, approachable visual identity. Our iLOCA mascot makes a data-heavy business tool feel less intimidating for first-time entrepreneurs while still maintaining a modern, technology-focused appearance.

What we learned

We learned that location selection is not based on one “perfect” metric. High footfall may also mean higher rent and greater competition, while fewer competitors may indicate either an opportunity or insufficient demand. This reinforced the importance of explainable recommendations. Instead of presenting one unexplained score, iLOCA should show users which factors contributed to the result. We also learned how important it is to define the boundaries of AI. iLOCA can organise information, identify patterns and support decision-making, but the final decision must remain with the business owner.

What's next for iLOCA

Our next step is to validate the prototype with café owners, first-time entrepreneurs and commercial property professionals. Future features include:

Partnerships with commercial rental providers for updated rent and vacancy data
A basic business setup-cost estimator
Supplier marketplace
Multi-location comparison and management
Personalised, explainable location recommendations
Inspection booking and property shortlisting
Expanded support for different industries and Australian cities Our long-term vision is for iLOCA to become a trusted starting point for entrepreneurs searching for the right place to grow.