This is a submission for the World's Largest Hackathon Writing Challenge: Beyond the Code.
It was 2:00 AM, and I was sitting alone in the library.
My laptop had just dipped below 5 percent, and my calculus exam, worth half my grade, was only hours away. Everything on campus was closed. No food, no charger, no help.
I kept thinking, if only someone nearby could bring me something to eat or lend me their charger, just for a few minutes, maybe my exam score could have been saved.
I kept asking myself, maybe someone was nearby? Maybe someone just a few feet away had exactly what I needed? But I had no way of knowing, no way to ask, and I definitely didn’t want to get up and check as time slipped away.
That’s when the idea hit me.
What if there was a way to instantly connect with other students nearby, not just friends, but anyone on campus who could help you in moments like this?
At first, I called it “Rent a Minute” (I know, not great). But as the vision evolved, so did the name, and that’s how Hustl was born.
We didn’t want Hustl to be just another task-sharing app. We wanted it to solve that exact feeling of loneliness and helplessness that students experience every day — when you're stuck without help but surrounded by people who could help, if only there was a way to reach them.
Now, instead of feeling helpless, you can post a task, and someone down the hall, across the library, or walking back from the Student Union might see it and help. Whether it’s a student willing to bring you a snack, lend you a charger, take you home after a late study session, or grab groceries on their way back, Hustl makes those everyday lifelines possible. That same food I needed, the charger I wished I had at 2:00 AM, is now something Hustl can solve for me and for every other student facing the same kind of moment.
Hustl is about turning isolation into connection, and making help just one tap away.
We had the vision, but we didn’t have the time or resources to build a full-stack app from scratch, especially not during the World’s Largest Hackathon. That’s when we discovered Bolt.new, and everything changed.
Bolt gave us the tools to move fast. In just minutes, we had a working environment with React, TypeScript, Tailwind, and Vite. No setup headaches, no boilerplate code. We jumped straight into building real features. With Bolt’s live preview, real-time editing, and no-code-enhanced UI tools, we were able to prototype quickly and iterate with ease.
We wanted Hustl to feel human and intuitive, so we built beyond the basics.
We integrated voice AI using ElevenLabs, which allowed students to post tasks simply by speaking. This made the experience feel natural, accessible, and hands-free, especially for students on the go.
We used RevenueCat to add flexible premium plans for student organizations and local businesses, which gave us a sustainable path to monetization from the start.
With Sentry, we tracked and fixed errors in real time, using AI to catch bugs before users ever noticed them.
With the Google Maps API, we let users view and filter tasks based on proximity, including an option to show only tasks "on your route." This unlocked a whole new level of convenience and made helping someone feel effortless.
Our frontend stack — React, Tailwind, and TypeScript — made the design clean, scalable, and mobile-first. And Bolt helped us stay focused by simplifying logic flows and preventing overengineering.
A big reason we were able to move so fast was because of the Bolt prompts, which felt like having a co-pilot for both frontend and backend development. Here are a few that made a real difference:
“Make the layout mobile-friendly with a sticky bottom navigation bar and no layout changes to the current UI.”
“Connect Firebase to handle real-time updates for task status, chat messages, and user location. Ensure it updates across all users without refresh. Add backend error handling for failed task posts and chat delivery.”
“Ensure the task creation modal is scrollable and works smoothly on all screen sizes without breaking the layout.”
These prompts saved us hours of manual work and helped us create a seamless, student-ready experience.
Now, Hustl is live-testing at the University of Florida.
Students are already using it — to get smoothies delivered between back-to-back classes, retrieve goggles left in dorms before labs, match with study groups at the last minute, or catch a ride across campus. Hustl is connecting students who might have walked right past each other, unaware they could help.
It removes that feeling of being stuck or alone and replaces it with a sense of community. It reminds you that help is closer than you think, and now, there’s a way to ask.
Looking ahead, we’re building:
- AI-powered task matching and smart recommendations
- Voice and natural language autofill for posting tasks
- Dynamic pricing based on urgency and distance
- A full PWA version for iOS and Android users
And we’re not stopping at UF.
Our next goal is to expand Hustl to universities across Florida such as USF first then UCF and FSU, and eventually, campuses all over the country. Every student deserves to feel supported — and we believe Hustl can be the platform that makes that possible.
What started as a moment of late-night frustration has become a real platform that students are relying on.
If you’re sitting on an idea and thinking it’s too hard to build, don’t wait. Bolt gave us the power to start fast and learn as we went. If we could do this between classes, exams, and campus chaos, you can too.
Hustl isn’t just an app, it’s a movement.
A student-powered solution where no one has to feel stuck or alone again.
Top comments (3)
Came for the tech, stayed for the story xD. This was such a compelling narrative arc... from pure frustration to meaningful impact. The pain point hit hard and honestly took me back to those good ol' college-day struggles :')
Okay but lowkey this could become the ‘Zomato meets Swiggy meets Uber’ for campuses 👀
Don’t sleep on this man!!
Really solid concept. Feels grounded in a real problem students actually face. Good to see something useful come out of a tough moment. Hope you keep pushing it forward.