VanLife Hub

Find your people on the road. A dating, friendship, and services hub for the vanlife and nomad community. Three modes, one app.

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Inspiration

Fifteen years ago I lived the vanlife myself: an old GMC Vandura in Japan for quite some time. Different country, different era, different me. But when I saw Quin's brief, it totally spoke to me. And the timing was just right: I had a month ahead with no plans. I was looking to build something new. The stars aligned. And so, I built VanLife Hub.

What it does

VanLife Hub is a social app for nomads. It has three modes: Dating, Friends, and Help. You maintain one profile but switch lenses depending on what you're looking for. Want to find someone to go climbing with who's also heading to Colorado? Friends mode. Looking for a romantic connection with someone who actually understands the lifestyle? Dating mode. Need help rewiring your van's electrical? Help mode lets you browse services or post what you need.

There's also an AI matching feature (yes, it had to have AI! :P) that reads profiles, finds deeper connections, and tells you why two people would click. Not just "you both like hiking" but actual reasoning about compatibility. It's like that friend at a party who knows everyone and says "you two need to meet!".

Safety was built in from the start, not just some afterthought. The app is invite-only. You control your visibility. Location is not precise by design: You don't need GPS, you just need location at a regional level - if needed at all. And there's a full block and report system for when you need it. You can block (and report) weirdos.

Totally optional audio introductions let people hear your voice before you ever meet. And I'm planning in bringing in video intros too - although that's gonna bit a bit more challenging.

How I built it

Over long nights after my day work and "hackathon weekends" of very long days. With my cats giving me support and stepping on the keyboard. And with React Native (+Expo) for the mobile app, and Next.js for the BE (hosted by Vercel). PostgreSQL for the DB (provided by Prisma), and RevenueCat for subscriptions. The AI matching uses the Claude API for profile reasoning.

Challenges

The biggest challenge was designing for a community I haven't been part of in 15 years. For an audience I was not in touch with.

The multiple-lens profile system was another challenge from an UI point of view— how do you let someone present differently for dating vs. friendship without maintaining two separate profiles (and in a way that makes sense to the user)? The solution was color coded contextual visibility.

The monetization strategy as well: Striking the right balance between "free and still usefull" and "paid and totally worth it" is tricky.

Getting the demo experience right for TestFlight was also tricky. A social app with no real users is an empty room. So I built in randomized match-backs, a showcase for the AI match feature (where you get matched with my cat), and several detailed seed profiles so testers can experience the full loop from discovery to matching and messaging.

What I learned

That even tho I haven't participated in a hackathon since my Uni days, I still have it in me ;)

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