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FinFemme - HackViolet 2026 Submission

Inspiration

Only 30% of women are financially literate. This gap leaves 70% without the knowledge to make informed financial decisions, leading to debt struggles, inadequate savings, and missed investment opportunities.

Existing financial education is either expensive with complicated interfaces or boring textbooks that feel like homework. We asked: What if learning about money could feel like playing a game?

FinFemme makes financial literacy as engaging as Duolingo made language learning. It's a fun, bite-sized, gamified experience designed for women left behind by traditional financial education.

What It Does

FinFemme is a Duolingo-style platform that makes learning about money fun and accessible:

Interactive Lessons: 5 comprehensive courses (budgeting, investing, retirement, credit, loans) with bite-sized 5-10 minute lessons
Gamification: Hearts system (5 hearts, refill daily), XP & levels, streak tracking, and visual progress paths
Immediate Feedback: Every question provides instant explanations to reinforce learning

How We Built It

Tech Stack

Frontend: Next.js 16 (App Router), React 19, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS 4
UI/UX: Shadcn UI, Framer Motion, Lucide icons
Backend: NextAuth.js (Google OAuth + credentials), Prisma ORM, SQLite
Deployment: Vercel

Architecture

We chose Next.js App Router for server-side rendering and optimal performance. Prisma provided type-safety across our data layer, supporting user accounts, progress tracking, and lesson completion metrics.

We built reusable components following atomic design principles and implemented optimistic UI updates for seamless user experience.

Challenges We Faced

1. Balancing Simplicity with Engagement
We used progressive disclosure by introducing one concept at a time in conversational language, avoiding jargon unless teaching that specific term.

2. Getting Gamification Right
Hearts create stakes without frustration (5 hearts = room for mistakes), daily refills encourage consistency, and XP/streaks reinforce engagement without cognitive overload.

3. Time Constraints
Ruthless prioritization saved us. We cut AI chatbot, premium tier, and social features to focus on the core learning loop, hearts/XP system, and several polished courses.