Heirloom App

Inspiration

I built Heirloom as a gift for my dad — he has a million amazing stories, and I wanted a way to capture them before they faded. I also built it for Doyle, a close family friend who’s like a grandpa to me. He just turned 90, and while his memory isn’t what it used to be, his stories are absolutely incredible. I wanted to create something that would let him share those memories easily — not just for him, but for his family to hold on to forever.

That’s what Heirloom is: a storytelling companion that makes it easy (and kind of fun) to preserve your life story, one voice conversation at a time.

What it does

Heirloom is a voice-first AI app designed to help older adults reflect on their memories and naturally share life stories. Users have real-time, back-and-forth conversations with an AI that listens, speaks, and gently guides them with thoughtful questions like “Where were you living then?” or “How old were you at the time?”

All sessions are securely saved — including audio, transcripts, and contextual tags — and will eventually be organized into a digital autobiography that users (and their families) can cherish.

How we built it

The frontend was built using Bolt, with user authentication and data storage handled by Supabase. I used OpenAI to generate natural and empathetic conversation prompts and replies, and ElevenLabs for high-quality, human-like voice synthesis.

Rather than relying on voice-to-text, the app allows users to truly speak and be heard. Their stories are saved session by session, complete with dates, places, and key moments — ready to be transformed into something lasting.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to solve technical problems as a non-technical builder. I ran into lots of voice recognition errors early on (shoutout to the mysterious "network" error 😅), and had to keep iterating to get things working.

Another big challenge was designing an interface for older users — thinking through layout, font sizing, button clarity, and tone of voice. I didn’t want it to feel too modern or overwhelming, so I leaned into warmth, simplicity, and emotional ease.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I’m proud that the core voice experience is live and working — the AI feels human, the conversations are engaging, and the stories are already coming to life. I’m also proud that I was able to build something deeply personal from scratch, even without a technical background.

Most of all, I’m proud that my dad and Doyle both love the idea — and that their stories are now being captured in a way that feels natural to them.

What we learned

I learned how to structure an AI-powered product around real human emotion and connection. I got better at breaking down technical challenges into bite-sized prompts and working with tools like Supabase and ElevenLabs for the first time. And I learned how powerful AI can be when it’s used to preserve identity, memory, and family legacy — not just productivity.

What's next for Heirloom App

I’m honestly still figuring things out — it’s not perfect yet, and I’m learning a lot as I go. But I’m really proud of how far Heirloom has come, and I’m excited to keep building beyond this hackathon.

Next, I want to:

• Expand support for multi-session memory organization (so it builds a true book)
• Add shareable access for family members
• Let users tag or favorite specific memories
• Build out the “My Story” view as a timeline or narrative

This is just the beginning — I want Heirloom to be something that helps families hold onto the people they love, one story at a time.

Built With

• bolt
• elevenlabs
• netlify
• openai
• supabase