WolfVest

Homepage - Old Money
Chat Page - Old Money
Chat Page - CyberPunk
Chat Page - Classic

Inspiration

We noticed that opening investment accounts is often tedious, full of forms, and impersonal. We wanted to reimagine onboarding as a fun, interactive experience - combining conversational AI, OCR-powered document scanning, and a retro terminal aesthetic for a unique twist. Think finance meets 1980s nostalgia.

What it does

WolfVest is an AI-powered account onboarding platform that: 1) Guides users through account creation using a Gemini API-powered chatbot. 🤖 2) Extracts information automatically from IDs and documents via OCR. 📸 3) Provides real-time validation for inputs like email, SSN, and phone numbers. ✅ 4) Tracks onboarding progress and allows review before submission. 📊 5) Wraps the experience in a retro terminal UI inspired by CRT monitors and classic game consoles. 🎮

How we built it

Frontend: Next.js + React + Tailwind CSS for a responsive retro terminal UI.
Backend: FastAPI handles the chat logic, OCR processing, and account management.
AI & ML: Gemini API for conversational AI; LangChain for chat orchestration; OCR engine for document scanning.
Database: Snowflake for session management and analytics.
Dev Tools: GitHub for version control, Vercel for frontend deployment, local FastAPI server for backend.

We combined these technologies to create a smooth, real-time, interactive experience.

Challenges we ran into

Integrating FastAPI backend with Next.js frontend while maintaining real-time chat.
Setting up secure OCR extraction and API key management.
Handling schema and permissions issues with Snowflake.
Ensuring the retro terminal UI was both authentic and functional.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Fully functional AI chatbot guiding users through account onboarding.
OCR integration that auto-fills user information.
Engaging retro terminal UI that brings a nostalgic feel to a modern fintech app.
Completion of MVP during the hackathon.

What we learned

How to integrate cutting-edge AI APIs into real-world workflows.
Best practices for handling frontend-backend communication in Next.js + FastAPI.
Importance of database permissions and schema setup in Snowflake.
How to design a visually distinct UX while maintaining usability.

What's next for WolfVest

Deploy backend to a cloud service to enable full production deployment.
Add multi-step conversational flows with LangGraph for more personalized onboarding.
Implement user authentication and session management.
Expand OCR to handle multiple document types and improve accuracy.
Add Easter eggs and retro animations to increase user delight.