Hi everyone ⚡️
My name is Mary, I am the representative and responsible of the Blockbear Team (Mafer | Zula and me) to tell you how was our participation in the World's Largest Hackathon.
We are from Venezuela, and this story begins like this, one day Zula doing scrool in her X feed she found the hackathon publication, she shared it in our telegram group, we got excited and the rest although you can already imagine it, I keep telling you in this article.
When I signed up for the hackathon, I never imagined my team and I would end up developing such a complete product like UPA. Even less did I expect we could do it without writing a single line of code. But we did. And it was all thanks to a tool that exceeded our expectations: Bolt.new.
What is UPA?
UPA is a web app that allows people to create emotional agreements before a date or intimate encounter. Through conversational AI, ElevenLabs-generated voice, and a thoughtfully emotional interface, users can define intentions, boundaries, record their experience, and receive personalized reflections from a digital coach. It’s not a dating app. It’s a platform for mindful relationships. 🧠🤝❤️
Building with Bolt: Beyond the Prototype
Using Bolt.new felt like having a development partner that spoke natural language. While not in our native language (Spanish), tools like Deepl, LanguageTool, and ChatGPT helped bridge that gap. Translation wasn’t a barrier—it became part of the creative process. Bolt enabled us to design visually, work modularly, and build quickly. But it also demanded technical clarity. UPA wasn’t a basic MVP with simple flows—it became a full app:
✅User dashboard with fixed sidebar and scrollable content
✅Dark/light mode toggle across all views
✅Supabase integration to store agreements, feedback, badges, and emotional growth
✅ElevenLabs-powered voices that bring our AI coaches to life
✅AI-powered video calls with Tavus, with each coach having a unique personality
All of this was possible because our developer understood something essential: no-code doesn’t eliminate the need for structured thinking. It amplifies it.
Bolt as a Catalyst, Not a Crutch
Bolt didn’t replace design judgment or complex decisions. What it did was support our developer to move faster, think more strategically, and stay focused on the product. It allowed us to iterate quickly, test ideas, and most importantly—ship something that works.
And yes, UPA works. It has emotional logic, technical structure, and a thoughtfully crafted aesthetic. It’s not just a cute prototype. It’s a living app.
AI as an Emotional Ally
Many people fear artificial intelligence. But in this journey, we saw it as an ally that gave soul to the project. ElevenLabs transformed written reflections into warm, human voices. Tavus gave our coaches a face and presence. And Bolt gave us the speed to make that magic happen—without getting lost in backend complexity.
Was it easy? Not at all. Integrating multiple technologies into Bolt without a dedicated backend was a real challenge. But it pushed our developer to be creative, look for solutions, learn how to connect APIs, and work within limits.
What we learned building UPA:
🤓Emotional design is just as important as visual design.
🤓No-code is a powerful entry point, but it still requires technical judgment.
🤓Creating with AI doesn’t mean automating everything—it means amplifying what’s already inside.
🤓It’s absolutely possible to build something beautiful, useful, and functional during a hackathon.
UPA started as a question: What if there was a tool to make emotional agreements before a date? Today, it’s a fully functional, deployed app—ready to grow.
So if you’re reading this and have an idea hidden in a notes app somewhere… launch it. Don’t wait to be a code expert. Don’t underestimate what you can create. And if you can use AI as your creative partner, even better.
Because building isn’t just for developers anymore. It’s for dreamers with intention and discernment.
And that, Bolt understood perfectly.
If you want to know and try UPA, here I share some links:
🔗https://upa-bolt.netlify.app
🔗https://youtu.be/IDDJUqGw71g
🔗https://devpost.com/software/upa
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