Inspiration Starting a restaurant or small business involves tons of bureaucracy—licenses, permits, planning, and logistics. We wanted to make that process more seamless and accessible. Our inspiration came from the idea: “What if entrepreneurs had a digital co-pilot that automates all the repetitive startup steps?”
What it does Vendorly is a smart onboarding dashboard that guides restaurant owners through the process of opening a business. It provides:
✅ A customizable startup checklist (planning → pre-launch)
🔗 One-click access to government licensing portals
🤖 A Chrome extension that auto-fills registration forms using user data
🧠 Context-aware data fetching from our backend
📋 Planning tools and consultant tips to prepare before launch
How we built it Frontend: React + Tailwind CSS for responsive UI/UX
Backend: Flask + SQLite to manage user data and serve APIs
Authentication: Google OAuth and custom login/signup flow
Chrome Extension: Built with vanilla JS, it listens for user events and auto-fills government forms like service-now.com
Context API: Used to manage logged-in user data globally
Challenges we ran into Handling cross-origin requests from the Chrome extension to our local Flask server (CORS, HTTPS, mixed content errors)
Ensuring the extension waited for the form to load before attempting to auto-fill
Keeping form-filling dynamic and secure (especially with real user info)
Connecting data across frontend → backend → browser extension seamlessly
Accomplishments that we're proud of 🔐 Built a working secure flow: user logs in → clicks “Apply” → extension fills official forms
🌐 Solved CORS + HTTPS issues with local backend and extension
💡 Designed a clean, future-proof UI with scalable checklist logic
🧩 Created modular architecture across dashboard, extension, and API
What we learned Deep hands-on experience with React Context, Chrome Extension Messaging, and secure backend communication
How to solve mixed content + SSL issues in real-world dev environments
The importance of planning UX flows before coding
How to structure a multi-system project within limited hackathon time
What's next for Vendorly 🚀 Auto-register for multiple sites beyond ServiceNow (e.g. CRA, Food Safety, Liquor Board)
🔍 Resume from where you left off with saveable checklists
🤝 AI consultant assistant to answer licensing questions in real-time
🧠 Use LLMs to guide new vendors through city-specific requirements
💼 Expand beyond restaurants to retail, services, and pop-up businesses
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