Inspiration
Two of us grew up helping our parents run their small businesses, so we’ve seen firsthand how hard it is to juggle everything at once. Marketing always took a backseat because it was either too expensive, too complicated, or just took up too much time. That’s why we wanted to build something that makes it easier for small business owners to actually get noticed in their communities.
What it does
loca.ai helps small businesses create local ads that actually work. We take data from top competitor ads, let owners choose offers that make sense for their business, and use our own AI system trained on that data to generate full campaigns that are personalized for their area. It’s fast, simple, and way more affordable than hiring an agency or figuring everything out on your own.
How we built it
We built the front end using Google Stitch and coded it in React and Next.js. On the backend, we created a system that scrapes Facebook ads, analyzes top-performing content, and uses that data to train our AI. We also built tools for generating offers and creating ad creatives, so the whole process is automated from idea to campaign.
Challenges we ran into
We got locked out of our apartment for 12 hours without our laptops, so we had to figure out how to keep working with just our phones and notes. On top of that, running on no sleep made everything harder, but we stayed focused, kept communicating, and just found ways to push through.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Just getting a working MVP out with everything that went down was huge for us. We’re proud of how well we worked together under pressure, and that we built something that solves a real problem we’ve lived through ourselves.
What we learned
We learned that when you build something for a problem you’ve actually experienced, it gives you a clear direction. We also learned how to move fast, adapt when things go wrong, and how powerful AI can be when it’s trained on the right data. And most of all, we learned the importance of having a good team around you.
What's next for loca.ai
We don’t just see this as a hackathon project. This is something we actually want to keep building. We really believe loca.ai can grow into a startup that makes a real difference for small businesses. Right now, marketing is way too expensive and complicated for a lot of local shops. We want to change that by making something affordable, easy to use, and actually effective. Next up, we’re planning to test with real businesses, keep improving the AI, and build it into a full platform that helps owners get more customers without needing a huge budget or a full team.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.