Day 97 of 100 Days Coding Challenge: Python
Business Radar 3000
The Civilization Timeline project took longer than I wanted. Over the past few days, I had to do a major cleanup because my data suddenly stopped pulling correctly. I spent hours tracking down the cause—chasing bugs like a detective with too much coffee and not enough clues.
That’s when I learned a hard but valuable lesson: always back up your app, no matter how busy you are. If you’re working with environments, GitHub is not optional—it’s survival gear. Unfortunately, this is one of those lessons best learned once… the hard way.
With only four days left in the 100 Days challenge, it’s clear I won’t finish everything neatly by Day 100. Still, instead of panicking, I did what any reasonable person would do: I started a new project.
Our sister company recently introduced an AI-based market analysis app for their business. I wasn’t entirely sure what kind of AI they were using, but it sparked an idea: Maybe I can build something similar myself. The upside? I get to choose exactly which AI to use—and how.
This project also has long-term potential. I can see myself using it as an external analysis tool for my own business in the future, which makes the effort feel far less theoretical.
Knowing this project will likely push me about 7–8 days past the official 100-day mark, I went ahead and launched it anyway.
Thus, Business Radar 3000 was born.
Experience
Today kicked off a brand-new adventure: Business Rader 3000. If that sounds like a sci-fi gadget, well… it kind of is—except instead of spotting UFOs, it’s designed to find businesses. Starting a new project always feels like opening a crisp, blank notebook. You know the one: smooth pages, faint inky smell, the promise that this time, you’ll keep your handwriting neat.
I know this one will run longer than my 100-day countdown—14 days at least. But here’s the twist: I don’t actually care if it spills over. I started this challenge to see if coding would stick. Ninety-seven days in, I already know the answer. Spoiler: it did. I’m not stopping when the counter hits 100.
For setup, I leaned on Poetry again. Last time, I thought I’d forget everything about environments and dependencies, but muscle memory kicked in. Fourteen days may have passed, but the commands still rolled out smoother than I expected. Sure, I peeked at my notes for reassurance, but compared to my earlier flailing, today felt almost professional.
Today’s Motivation / Challenge
Why does this project matter? Imagine a magical Rolodex (remember those?) that not only stores company names but also tells you their industry, who runs them, and what opportunities might be on the horizon. Business Rader 3000 is my attempt at building just that. It’s equal parts detective tool and personal assistant—except this one never complains about coffee breaks.
Purpose of the Code (Object)
The code starts small: it asks for a company name, sets up a safe working environment, and makes sure the right tools are installed. Think of it as laying the foundation for a house—you won’t see fancy wallpaper yet, but without a good base, the whole thing topples.
AI Prompt
Please add the following Tasks.
Day 1 of Business Rader 3000
- Prompt the user for a company name.
- Set up a virtual environment.
- Install necessary libraries.
Functions & Features
- Ask the user for a company name.
- Create a clean, isolated Python environment.
- Install core libraries automatically.
Requirements / Setup
You’ll need:
- Python 3.11+
- Poetry (recommended) or pip
If you’re going the pip route:
pip install requests
Minimal Code Sample
# main.py
company = input(“Enter a company name: “)
print(f”Great! We’ll research {company}.”)
One line to ask, one line to confirm. The coding equivalent of saying “hello” before the real conversation starts.
Notes / Lessons Learned
Ninety-seven days in, and I’m still tripping over where files should live. Here’s the cheat sheet that finally stuck:
business-rader-3000/ <—- Yes, I have a spelling error, I’ve noticed after I uploaded my app.
├─ .gitignore
├─ .env # (later, don’t commit this!)
├─ pyproject.toml # if using Poetry
├─ requirements.txt # if using pip
└─ src/
└─ main.py
Put .gitignore at the root, not buried in some sub-folder. And yes, double-check before pushing to GitHub—nobody wants their API keys doing a world tour. Eventually, this becomes second nature, but while learning, never be shy about asking, “Where does this file go?” It saves hours of detective work later.
Optional Ideas for Expansion
- Add a greeting that remembers the last company you entered.
- Store the company name in a text file or database for future sessions.
- Build a tiny CLI so you don’t have to retype commands every time.