**Inspiration&&
Side By Side was inspired by the hackathon theme, which focused on building technology that brings people together. We wanted to create something that helps users feel less alone by connecting them with others who share similar goals, interests, and personalities. The idea came from noticing how many platforms claim to connect people, but often don’t create meaningful interactions.
What it does
Side By Side allows users to create a personalized profile and connect with others who are similar to them. Users can customize their experience by choosing their own background color, font, and text color. The app also uses AI to analyze user input and help with mood-based features and smarter matching between users.
How we built it
We built Side By Side using Flask (Python) for the backend and MongoDB for storing user data. User profiles, preferences, and customization settings are saved in the database. We used Gemini AI to analyze text input.
Challenges we ran into
One of the biggest challenges was combining multiple features into one working app without breaking existing functionality. Managing Flask routes, database connections, and user-specific customization took time. We also had to learn how to properly store sensitive data using .env files instead of pushing secrets to GitHub. We also realized that we should have spent more time planning. Our ideas kept evolving, and we sometimes got stuck mid-way because we were trying to do too much at once.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We’re proud that we built a fully working full-stack application with user accounts, database storage, customization features, and AI integration. We’re also proud of how the app stays true to the hackathon theme by focusing on meaningful connections rather than just surface-level interaction.
What we learned
We learned how to design and build a complete web application from scratch. This project helped us better understand Flask, MongoDB, environment variables, and AI APIs. We also learned the importance of planning, debugging, and keeping code organized during development.
What's next for Side By Side
Next, we want to improve user matching, add real-time chat features, and expand personalization options. We also plan to enhance AI features to better support users and make connections even more meaningful.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.