Inspiration
What it does
How we built it
Challenges we ran into
Accomplishments that we're proud of
What we learned
What's next for Sticky Wall - Freelancer Command Centre
Inspiration: Freelancers don't lose money because they are lazy. They lose money because they are tired. After finishing work, they have to open another app, remember what they did, type an invoice, send it, and then chase the client for payment. I wanted to fix that in 1 click.
What it does: Sticky Wall is a visual wall + money tool for freelancers.
- Brain Dump: You write your messy ideas in plain words — "logo for Ali, call client, fix website"
- Gemini AI: Gemini AI reads it and turns it into clear tasks instantly.
- Sticky Wall: Tasks appear as colorful sticky notes on a wall. Drag, complete, organize.
- 1-Click PayPal Invoice: Click any completed task and Sticky Wall auto-creates a real PayPal Invoice from that task. No typing, no copy-paste.
- PayPal Checkout: Client gets the invoice and pays via PayPal Checkout. You get paid faster.
Full loop: Thought -> Task -> Work -> Invoice -> Payment. All in one place.
How we built it: Frontend: React, JavaScript AI: Gemini AI for Brain Dump to Tasks + Daily Work Summary Payments: PayPal Sandbox API - PayPal Invoice API + PayPal Checkout Backend: Node.js
The key connection is PayPal + AI working together. AI doesn't just make a to-do list. AI makes the data that PayPal uses to make the invoice. Without AI, invoice is manual. Without PayPal, task is just a task. Together, they save real time.
Challenges we ran into: Making AI output clean enough to become an invoice line-item was hard. If AI gives messy text, invoice looks unprofessional. We fixed it by structuring AI output into Title + Description + Amount logic before sending to PayPal.
Accomplishments that we're proud of: Built a complete end-to-end product alone — from idea to working demo with real PayPal Invoice creation, not just a mockup.
What we learned: Simple wins. Judges and users don't want 20 features. They want 1 painful problem solved perfectly.
What's next for Sticky Wall: Add Weekly AI Financial Assistant — Gemini will analyze completed tasks for the week, flag scope creep, and suggest invoice add-ons with justification notes for the client, so freelancers never undercharge again.
