Loander - Team 7

Inspiration

The world of finance is often seen as cold, impersonal, and daunting. Many individuals feel overwhelmed by traditional banking systems, lengthy loan applications, and the lack of personal touch. With its unique financial climate and growing community needs, we saw a gap for a platform that humanizes the lending and borrowing process. Our inspiration was to merge the simplicity of modern-day apps, like Tinder, with the world of lending, to make finance more approachable and personal.

What it does

'Loander' is an innovative platform that connects lenders and borrowers in Melbourne using a simple, Tinder-like matching mechanism. Users create a profile specifying their loan requirements (for borrowers) or lending conditions (for lenders). They then swipe through potential matches, ensuring both parties get the most favorable terms. Once a match is made, they can communicate directly to finalize their agreement.

How we built it

We developed the UI with TypeScript and React, managing the states with Zustand, styled with Tailwind CSS. Our frontend integrates with our Supabase (postgresql) database by passing user form data to query filtering the matching profiles which is the core of our application.

Challenges we ran into

Building a secure platform was paramount, given the sensitive nature of financial transactions. Ensuring data security while maintaining real-time capabilities posed challenges. Additionally, creating an algorithm to match lenders and borrowers based on multiple criteria while ensuring fair representation required multiple iterations.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Creating an integrated full stack web application and turning our design and funny idea into life. Successfully creating a human-centric finance platform that's both engaging and functional is our proudest accomplishment. We also take pride in our sophisticated matching algorithm that considers various parameters to suggest the best possible matches for our users.

What we learned

Leveraged Supabase, a real-time database, to manage and query user profiles.
Integrated with custom state stores (useSliderStore and useFormDataStore), which suggests a more advanced state management than just using React's useState
Recognized the importance of accessibility in UI development, for example, using appropriate components like Dialog.Description for screen readers.
Implemented complex filtering and searching functionality based on user preferences and profile details. This involves querying the database based on user inputs and adjusting queries based on specific conditions (like if the user is a lender or borrower).
Beyond technical skills, we learned the importance of empathy in design. Financial decisions are deeply personal, and understanding the user's emotional journey was crucial.

What's next for Loander

Due to legal and ethical implications, we are uncertain envisioning the future of 'Loander', adapting it to different financial climates and needs. Otherwise, we're looking into finish the development of the existing pages and introducing features like financial literacy resources, chatbots for instant assistance, and advanced AI-powered match predictions to enhance user experience.