Orbit

Orbit – The all-in-one platform for van lifers to connect, build smarter, and travel better.

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Inspiration

Orbit was inspired by Quin Gable’s brief and one key reality: van life is mobile, but community requires stability. Dating, making friends, and finding trusted builders is difficult when you’re constantly moving. Most communication happens in scattered Facebook groups or DMs, with no structured, trusted environment. I wanted to build a focused digital home designed specifically for van lifers.

Mobility + Trust = Stronger Community

What it does

Orbit is a mobile app that provides: -User profiles with identity clarity -Community posting (like, comment, share) -A structured foundation for builder support -A premium Orbit Pro subscription model The goal is to create intentional, safe interaction — not another noisy social network.

How we built it

Orbit was built as a mobile-first Android app using: -React Native (Expo) -Supabase (authentication + database with row-level security) -RevenueCat (subscription management) -Google Play internal testing track I separated the community layer from monetization to keep social interaction accessible while enabling sustainable premium features.

Challenges we ran into

-Production builds behaving differently than development builds -Integrating RevenueCat correctly with Google Play subscriptions -Setting up proper permissions and service accounts -Designing for trust in a protective community

The deployment and billing infrastructure were more complex than expected.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

-Successfully integrating subscription infrastructure -Publishing to Google Play internal testing -Creating a clean, minimal UX focused on identity and trust -Building a scalable foundation ready for verification and invite-only systems

What we learned

I learned that community apps are not just feature-driven — they are trust-driven.

Clear Identity+Strong Infrastructure=Scalable Trust Shipping a real product requires understanding infrastructure, psychology, and deployment — not just code.

What's next for Orbit

-Launching with investors and creator for revenue collection (earning :D) -Activity-based friend matching -Verified builder badges -Android and iOS release

Orbit’s long-term goal is to make connection on the road feel stable, even when life is constantly moving. It is initially Build for Android version but in future will be build fast for iOS.

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