[Top Builder 2025]: Flash

[AlphonseMehounme]

🏗️ Top Builder 2025 Application Form to track progress through Round 1 - 3 ~ Currently in Round 1

📝 Instructions

Welcome to the Top Builder competition! Before you begin, here’s what you need to know:

1. Eligibility: Only teams that have been officially selected for Top Builder by PlebLab are eligible to use this form.
2. Detailed Submissions: Provide comprehensive information to assist the judges in evaluating your project effectively.
3. Submission Deadlines: Adhere to submission deadlines for each round to remain in good standing.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 The Team

• Team Name: Flash
• Number of Founders: 3
• Team Background: Alphonse is a Software Engineer and Holberton School graduate working on Bitcoin projects. Loïc is an experienced UI/UX Designer who contributed to many Bitcoin projects like Blink. Samadou is an experienced Developer with 2 years experience at 41Devs.
• Bitcoin & Lightning Involvement: We connect lighnting to the wide spread Mobile Money technology in Africa to provide easy access to Bitcoin and financial services to people in Africa. With our platform, they can easily, buy, sell, spend, and save in Bitcoin using their daily Mobile Money account. We envision making it possible to everyone to easily access Bitcoin from their local currencies.
• Origin Story: After we received our orange pills and started sharing at our turn, we find it difficult to people in our different community to access Bitcoin. We decided to build a platform that fixes that issue. We are then Building Flash to make it easy to anyone in West Africa (for now) to easily access Bitcoin with Mobile Money that is used by millions of people who do not have access to banking services.

💡 The Idea

• Project Overview: Our solution combines Lightning and Mobile Money technologies to make access to Bitcoin simple and easy to people in Africa.
• Website: https://www.bitcoinflash.xyz/ (Current version and we are working on the new one)
• GitHub: Flash
• Project Stage: We have the first version that people use to buy and sell bitcoin with Mobile Money. In Jan 25, we got 45 transactions from around 30 people.
• Supplementary Materials: [Figma] (https://www.figma.com/design/tu4wgDZEe2sazeh2JPdMCa/Pleb-Lab---Top-Builders?node-id=421-136&p=f&t=gtz1rkUM4TL4wIEm-0) work in progress by @Loicbtc

📚 Additional Information

• Additional Links/Info:

📌 Submission Type

• We will submit a new version of our platform

🚀 Current Project Progress

• Progress Made:

-- New version UX/UI Design validated with Team
-- Started building the Backend API with Buy and Sell Bitcoin features
-- Started Building the frontend with the landing page done
-- Buy sat flow on the frontend in Progress
-- Sell sat flow on the frontend in Progress

Here is live details on our progress : Flash (view)

• Challenges Faced:

-- Migration to new development stack to have all the project on the same stack ( Node + Express & Vuesj)
-- Choosing the right bitcoin features implementation api or SDK (Now going with Bitnob API for fast development)
-- Integrating Mobile Money Payment Service Provider ( We are still working on this : CashChap, FedaPay, KKiaPay )

• Future Roadmap of what's next:

-- Complete the Backend API
-- Integrate the Front with the Backend API for the different features
-- Host the platform for direct online access

⏳ Round 1 Milestone

• Completion will need to be by February 8th, 2025.

New version of Flash platform

📝 Submission Complete

• All required information has been provided above.

📅 Top Builder Program Structure

Registration Opens: Monday, October 28th, 2024

• Application: Interested teams apply for Top Builder.
• Selection: Teams will be chosen based on their application. See FAQ for details.

Round 1: January 6th - February 8th, 2025

• Workshops: PlebLab weekly workshops start, available live and online.
• Chat Access: Selected teams join the PlebLab internal chat.
• Mentorship: Begins for teams.
• Project Milestones: Teams are set and judged on their first-round milestones.

Round 2: February 9 - 22nd, 2025

• Team Reduction: PlebLab cuts half of the Top Builder teams. (Only half continued in Round 2.)
• Project Milestones: Teams are set and judged on their second-round milestones.
• Workshops: PlebLab weekly workshops continue.
• Mentorship: Continues.

Round 3: Starting February 23rd, 2025

• Team Reduction: PlebLab narrows down to 5 Top Builder teams. (All will be pitching in Austin.)
• Final Milestones: Teams set final project milestones for the last round.
• Preparation: Teams prepare their pitch in front of judges. Final teams are contacted to come to Austin for Startup Day.

Final Round at Startup Day: March 13, 2025

• Preparation: Teams work on their final pitches at PlebLab.
• Presentations: Final teams present before judges on Startup Day.
• Deliberation: Judges decide during a happy hour.
• Announcement: The winner of Top Builder is announced at Austin BitDevs.
• Celebration: After-party for Top Builder.

[AlphonseMehounme]

In week 1 we validated the New version of the UX/UI Design and the Architecture with Design and Development Team

[AlphonseMehounme]

Week 2 Update :

During the second week, we started building the Backend API and the Frontend. We are almost done with the landing page and keep working on the other part.

This version will include the possibility to buy/sell Bitcoin using Mobile Money and Lightning.

[AlphonseMehounme]

Week 3 Update

During the third week, we made some progress in Building the API and Front end.

API

User creation and Authentication
Endpoint for buying process in progress
Endpoint for selling process in progress
Research and Development on Mobile Money service provider choice
Front-End

Landing page done
Account creation and authentication done
Buying flow in progress
Selling flow in progress
The 4th week will see the major progress toward v1.0 of Flash completion

[AlphonseMehounme]

Week 4 Update :

During this week, we finished the Buy and Sell sats processes on the API by completing the different endpoints and start integrating the Mobile Money payments with Paydunia and Kkiapay and progress with the frontend after making huge change to the design.

API

✅ Endpoint for buying process done and sending sats process automated
✅ Endpoint for selling process done and Lightning invoice generation and checking processes automated
⏳ Mobile Money payments automation in progress

Front-End

✅ Buying sats flow done
⏳ Selling sats flow in progress

Next Steps

⚡ Complete Mobile Money payments integration and automation
⚡ Complete the Selling sats flow in the frontend
⚡ Deploy the new app
⚡ Get the first 10 testeurs of the platform
⚡ Start building new go-to market and new customers acquisition strategies

[AlphonseMehounme]

Round 1 Recap by Flash Team :

https://www.loom.com/share/8ca1dadf75e94e35900518cca8cf099a?sid=d3754f6e-8966-4cdd-a093-1bd14fe590df

[AlphonseMehounme]

Round 2 Final Recap by Flash Team :

During these final week, we worked on putting the final features live.
Right now, with Flash :

• You can use Mobile Money to send payment to any Lightning wallet
• You can use your Lightning wallet to send money to anyone with a Mobile Money account. You can pay any business or merchant that accept Bitcoin Payment.

How ? Find details in the video :

https://www.loom.com/share/4fd6c0cea35d4c039b6075bbd45aefae?sid=27a3971f-bacb-40e0-a22a-b6a9ea128ebc

Next Step :

• Improve the UI/UX to build a better user x for our users
• Welcome 50 testeurs to get their feebdack and iterate

We would also love getting your feedback.