What happens when real influencers hand you a brief and say, “Build the app my audience actually needs“? Shipyard: Creator Contest set out to answer that question. In just four weeks, more than 900 builders competed to design, launch, and monetize an MVP for seven creators ready for long-term app partnerships. Now, we’re proud to introduce the seven winners.
Eitan Bernath
In Eitan Bernath’s category, the task was to help people actually cook what they’ve been meaning to make. Think of tools that turn inspiration into action: an app that can generate a grocery list from a recipe video/link, organize what you want to cook, and make it simple to get started.
Winning app: Preplo – turning cooking videos into actionable recipes
Preplo turns cooking inspiration into something you can actually make. Drop in a YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram link and it instantly generates a structured recipe with quantities, step-by-step instructions (with timestamps), estimated costs, and nutrition info. It makes the jump from “I saved this” to “it’s on the table” much easier.
You can also tweak recipes on the fly — make it spicier, vegan, or low-carb, and everything updates accordingly. Built with Expo React Native and a Next.js backend, Preplo also caches processed videos so the same clip is never analyzed twice.
Gabby Beckford
In Gabby Beckford’s brief the goal was to build an upbeat, motivating app that turns goals into daily micro-actions, with challenges, streaks/wins, tracking, and gamified moments that make progress feel fun. Designed for ambitious women who want to embark on dream trips and life upgrades, but often get held back by the mundane day-to-day, or stuck between inspiration and action.
Winning app: Bloom – turning big dreams into daily wins
Bloom is a gamified personal growth app for women who need help taking the steps to turn dreams into daily life. Instead of another to-do list, Bloom connects goals, money confidence, mindset, and travel into one motivating system.
At the center is the Digital Garden: daily habits fuel visible growth, so progress feels real. Users can set ‘Dreams’, play bite-sized financial mini-games, journal with AI guidance, and track travels on an interactive map. Built with Flutter and powered by Supabase and Mapbox, Bloom focuses on making self-development feel encouraging rather than overwhelming.
Quin Gable
Dating and making friends on the road is hard when you’re always moving. Digital nomad Quin Gable wanted a van-life app with nomadic dating, activity-based friend finding, and even a paid ‘builder help’ section for van projects. To keep the community protected, the app needed to be invite-only or verified access to ensure the app remained safe and connection was intentional.
Winning app: WanderBase – dating and community for life on the road
WanderBase is a dating and community app built specifically for van-lifers and nomads. Instead of endless swiping, users explore hand-illustrated, customizable van avatars that reflect your lifestyle and travel vibe; a playful twist that feels true to life on the road.
It’s invite-only, with route-based matching, mutual chat unlocks, and a help-finding forum for van projects. Built with React Native and Firebase, with server-side matching and strict security rules, WanderBase guarantees trust, and prioritizes safety and fun in equal measure.