Peerfect

Inspiration

We’ve all been in that moment: it’s late at night, the homework deadline is tomorrow, and you’re stuck on one tricky concept. Hiring a tutor feels like overkill, and asking friends often feels awkward. At the same time, many students want to help but don’t have a good system to connect and get rewarded.

That inspired us to build Peerfect—a lightweight, peer-to-peer tutoring platform where students can ask for quick help, get matched instantly, and reward each other with points instead of money.

What it does

Post a request: A student creates a request specifying the course, topic, description, and points offered.
Accept & help: Other students browse open requests and accept one to tutor.
Join & complete: The request includes a join link for virtual meeting and date to meet in-person. Once complete, points are transferred automatically.

How we built it

Frontend: React + Vite, with a custom design system (frosted cards, sticky toolbar, status pills).
Backend: FastAPI (Python) with MongoDB to store requests and user profiles.
Auth: Auth0 for authentication and secure JWT token handling.
Deployment:

Challenges we ran into

Setting up FastAPI with MongoDB and Auth0.
Handling CORS and SSE authentication.
Preventing users from accepting their own requests.
Polishing the UI under hackathon time pressure.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a realtime request system that actually works end-to-end.
Pulled off a clean, polished UI under hackathon pressure.
Got Auth0 + FastAPI + MongoDB all talking together smoothly.

What we learned

How to integrate Auth0 authentication across frontend and backend.
Server-Sent Events for simple realtime updates.
Clean UX matters as much as backend logic in making a project feel real.

What's next for Peerfect

Gamification: Weekly challenges, streaks, and leaderboards to keep the ecosystem lively.
AI Assist + Tutor Boost: Use AI to draft quick hints or explanations, while encouraging human tutors to add depth (hybrid support).
Community Spaces: Group requests into study rooms for popular courses so students can collaborate instead of just 1-on-1.