LooLoop

Onboard
Event's Map
Events' List

Inspiration

Being a first-year international student, navigating a new environment and finding new people to meet can be an arduous task. Keeping this in mind, we built **LooLoop**, a platform that helps not only university students but people in general discover events based on their interests. We also wanted to make it easier for users to connect with people who share similar interests and hobbies. Our goal was to combine event discovery with social connections in one platform.

What it does

LooLoop helps people find others with similar interests through social groups called **Circles**. Users can join or create Circles based on shared interests and use them to discover like-minded people. Within Circles, users can connect with one another using their Instagram handles. This allows LooLoop to provide both personalized event discovery and a way for users to build new social connections.

How we built it

Our team of four was divided into two groups, with two members primarily handling the backend and two handling the frontend. However, the development process was collaborative, with all four members contributing to brainstorming and architectural decisions. We worked together to plan the overall structure of LooLoop before implementing the individual components. We also used GitHub to collaborate and manage our code throughout development.

Challenges we ran into

One of the main challenges we faced was finding the most relevant APIs for our platform and getting them to work correctly. Connecting the frontend and backend was the most difficult part of the development process, as it required ensuring that data was properly communicated between the two. We also had to adapt our implementation as the idea evolved through multiple pivots. Finally, integrating voice support required the entire team to come together for another brainstorming session and determine how best to incorporate it into the platform.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of successfully building LooLoop within the given time limit while adapting to multiple changes and pivots throughout development. Despite these changes, we were able to implement additional features such as **Circles** and voice support. We are particularly proud that the final product went beyond our initial concept and incorporated both event discovery and social networking. Most importantly, we are proud of the teamwork and collaboration that allowed us to bring the idea to life within the limited timeframe.

What we learned

Through building LooLoop, we gained practical experience with API integration, voice integration, and Supabase. We also learned how to work collaboratively using GitHub, including managing branches and coordinating development across different parts of the project. Working on the project also taught us how to adapt our architecture and implementation as our ideas changed. Overall, we gained valuable experience in taking an idea from brainstorming to a functional product.

What's next for LooLoop

Our next goal for LooLoop is to improve event recommendations and make them more personalized to each user's interests. We also want to expand Circles with more ways for users to interact and connect with one another. In the future, we hope to integrate more event sources and expand LooLoop to support users across different locations. We also plan to further improve the voice functionality and overall user experience.