Announcing the Winners of the Square Local Community Hackathon

Square's Local Community Hackathon offered a platform for creative minds to reimagine the relationship between businesses and local communities using Square APIs. Participants brainstormed solutions that celebrated diversity, fostered community spirit, and empowered sellers on a global scale. The event envisioned a society where every interaction between merchants and consumers is extraordinary, incentivizing participants to unleash their creativity to improve the way we experience and connect with our local communities.

We were pleased to partner with Devpost to welcome over 1,000 participants from 57 countries. The winners by category are listed down below:

First Place Overall: Wallaby Markets

Wallaby Markets provide creators a storefront to their local community. Wallaby extends these in-person experiences with an online marketplace that provides stall bookings and local pickups for online orders.

Wallaby Markets was born when the developer witnessed the struggles of friends and family running small businesses, with aims to unify local commerce and integrate online and in-person sales. Recognizing the ubiquity of Square for in-person transactions, they envisioned a platform that would enable sellers to expand their reach. With Wallaby Markets, sellers can join a marketplace, book stalls at local markets, and offer convenient local pickups for online orders. Customers benefit from a curated selection of products from local sellers and the ease of purchasing from multiple vendors in a single transaction. Built using React Native, Firebase, and Square APIs, Wallaby Markets bridges the gap between online and offline commerce, empowering sellers and enriching the local community.

Wallaby Markets was also awarded the Bonus for Best Technical API Implementation

Second Place Overall: Square Coupons

Buy Smart, Give Back! Generate waste reducing coupons using Square API, then connect to local charities.

The concept behind Square Coupons was born from the troubling statistics surrounding food waste, which not only signifies a failure in the market, but also poses environmental and social challenges. To address this issue, the team developed a predictive model to manage grocery supply and demand, coupled with an algorithm designed to optimize discounts and minimize losses. The frontend of the application was built using Next.js and Tailwind CSS, while the backend was built on a Node.js and Square API integration. Moving forward, the team aims to continue development on Square Coupons to become a deeper part of the Square ecosystem.

Best Solution for Fostering Local Business: Impact²

Impact² lets you crowdsource projects that improve your local neighborhood. Local shops can sell special products where a percent of each sale gets contributed to the current project.

Check out the Impact² demo video!

Impact² is a crowd-sourcing platform designed to enhance local neighborhoods by engaging businesses and customers on community-driven projects. Utilizing the Square OAuth provider and Catalog API, the platform seamlessly integrates with local businesses, empowering them to offer special products contributing to ongoing community initiatives. Developed with technologies like Next.js and Tailwind CSS, the platform ensures reliability and scalability, with streamlined deployment through Sliplane.io using Docker. Proactive engagement with shop owners and residents, alongside iterative feedback loops, validated the concept and ensured alignment with community needs. Moving forward, the team plans to test the platform within the local community, focusing on engaging cafes as key stakeholders to catalyze widespread adoption.

Best Experience that Drives Customer Loyalty: PhotoWall

Helping small business owners crowdsource quality product photos while connecting their local community and building brand loyalty.

PhotoWall allows customers to share photos of their experiences with local businesses, which helps to build brand loyalty and trust within the community. Customers are incentivized to post through Square Loyalty rewards, enhancing engagement and encouraging referrals. These user-generated photos contribute to authentic marketing materials for businesses, fostering better connections with loyal customers. Ultimately, PhotoWall seeks to empower small business owners by saving them time and energy, enabling them to focus on delivering quality products and services while enhancing their visibility and engagement in the local marketplace.

Best use of Square APIs to Bring Local Visibility to a Seller: SquareEdge

Square Edge revolutionizes online retail by transforming it with interactive, engaging virtual experiences.

Square Edge transforms online retail with interactive virtual experiences, boasting 8X more engagement than traditional digital catalog-based selling. Developed with Next.js, Tailwind CSS, and other cutting-edge technologies, it seamlessly integrates Square APIs like OAuth, Catalog, and Sites. The team's accomplishment lies in creating a full-stack solution within a month to address an unexplored real-world problem. Leveraging Square Developer APIs, they aim to enhance interaction, provide personalized recommendations, ensure seamless integration with various e-commerce platforms, and introduce features like live chat, personalized recommendations, analytics dashboards, and virtual try-ons in the future, making online shopping more engaging and informative.

Best Solution for Experiential Events: Spark

Marketplace for Square merchants to find collaborators and sponsors for their events seamlessly.

Spark was born out of the realization of the networking challenges faced by small business owners, a sentiment echoed by conversations with entrepreneurs like Cheyenne from Little Oat Collective in North Carolina. Traditional platforms lacked the specificity needed for local business collaborations, leading to repetitive partnerships and significant time investments in building new relationships. Spark addresses these issues by providing a dedicated marketplace where small businesses can easily sponsor and collaborate on events. The platform offers a user-friendly interface for creating events, specifying sponsorship needs, and browsing potential partners based on category, business type, and location. Detailed business profiles enhance decision-making, while a responsive interface ensures seamless management of event needs on both web and mobile devices. Built with a focus on solving real-world problems, Spark leverages a handful of Square APIs including OAuth, Merchant API, Locations API, Checkout API, and Payments API to streamline processes and provide a tailored solution for local businesses.

Spark was also awarded the Bonus for: Most Creative Use of Multiple Square APIs

Thank you and congrats to our 2 Bonus winners for Most Helpful Feedback: Abhijit Roy and Hong Tran

Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to all who participated in this hackathon! If you’d like to become more active in the Square Developer community, join our Discord channel.