Inspiration
Finding the right roommate is one of the most stressful parts of campus life. Most students end up with incompatible roommates due to limited options, lack of information, or rushed decisions. We wanted to solve this by making roommate discovery as intuitive and engaging as modern social apps, while still focusing on compatibility and real-life needs.
What it does
KampuzMatch is a swipe-based roommate matching platform where students can discover and connect with potential roommates based on shared preferences and lifestyle compatibility.
Users can:
- Create detailed profiles including habits, budget, cleanliness level, and personality traits
- Swipe through potential roommates using a simple left/right system
- Get matched when both users show interest
- Chat instantly after matching
- Filter matches based on location, budget, and preferences
The platform removes guesswork and helps students find people they can actually live with comfortably.
How we built it
We built KampuzMatch using a scalable and modern tech stack:
- Frontend: Next.js + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS for a fast and responsive UI
- Backend: Node.js with Express for API handling
- Database: PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM for structured user and preference data
- Real-time: WebSockets for instant messaging and match updates
- Authentication: Email and OAuth-based login
- Matching Engine: Custom logic that scores compatibility based on user inputs
The system is optimized for speed, smooth swiping interactions, and real-time communication.
Challenges we ran into
- Designing a fair and accurate compatibility scoring system
- Preventing low-quality or incomplete user profiles
- Ensuring fast and smooth swipe interactions without lag
- Handling real-time match updates efficiently
- Balancing simplicity with enough profile detail for meaningful matches
Accomplishments that we're proud of
- Built an intuitive swipe-based roommate discovery experience
- Created a compatibility-driven matching system
- Delivered a clean, mobile-first UI that feels natural to use
- Enabled real-time matching and messaging
- Designed a system that solves a real, everyday student problem
What we learned
- Compatibility matters more than just availability in roommate matching
- Simple UX (like swiping) dramatically increases engagement
- Users are more likely to trust platforms that show detailed, relevant data
- Real-time feedback (matches, chats) keeps users active
- Good onboarding is critical for collecting meaningful user data
What's next for KampuzMatch
- AI-powered compatibility insights and recommendations
- Verification system for safer matching
- Integration with housing listings and landlords
- Personality quizzes for deeper matching accuracy
- In-app agreements and roommate contracts
- Expansion beyond campuses into general housing markets
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