MatchBox

MatchBox Logo

Inspiration

Conferences, career fairs, and networking events alike can be overwhelming. Navigating such a large group of people can be intimidating as many attendees find themselves reaching out to anyone they run into in hopes of connecting. For recruiters and companies, finding the right prospects in a live event is like finding a needle in a haystack. We believe that the experience of these events can be greatly enhanced. MatchBox provides a platform for both recruiters and attendees to connect with one another effectively through a matching system. Attendees can now navigate these events with direction and purpose as they meet others, and recruiters can be confident that each candidate they match with possesses the potential and interest to excel.

What it does

MatchBox is an app that makes meaningful and memorable connections no longer coincidental. Our platform provides attendees of any social or networking event, with a platform that matches them with others to build intentional connections. To begin, the user can search and find the event they are attending. The user is then given a form, where they can enter information about themselves, including their name, school, major, year, interests, and experiences. From there, the user’s data is put into a GPT matcher, where they will be paired with another person attending the event with the same match number. One user’s screen will be green and the others will be red. The person with the green screen will go and find the other person with the other matching number, who will remain where they are. From there, the two can see what they have in common, network, and build a lasting connection.

How we built it

We built this app using React.js for the front end, MongoDB for the backend, and utilized a GPT API for the matching system that we prompt engineered for.

Challenges we ran into

Some of the challenges we ran into included the method by which users would find one another. We wanted to utilize a geolocator, but because these conferences are typically densely populated in a smaller amount of space, implementing such a precise mapping system would be challenging. We also took a considerable amount of time planning the layout for the app and the journey the user would take in creating their profile to match, as we wanted to make the process extremely straightforward and intuitive.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The tech stack our team used this year was not one that we were entirely familiar with. Being able to build a cohesive app with full functionality is definitely something we’re proud of. Specifically, being able to successfully integrate the GPT API was a rewarding experience.

What we learned

One of the main lessons we learned was the design nuances and how they pair with back-end implementations. Being able to create a user interface that not only looks great but is intuitive in nature was challenging. We also learned the importance of intentional, strategic planning beforehand so that we can streamline our teams’ workflow, and swiftly connect front-end and back-end.

What's next for MatchBox

MatchBox has plenty of room for future expansion. As we continue to build this project, we plan on adding a feature where event hosts can customize the profile form that users fill out to make it more specific to the event they are hosting. We also hope to implement a precise geolocator, along with web sockets to greatly improve user experience. Finally, it only makes sense to add a resume upload to the user profile to improve matching quality.