Vanmates

VanMates helps vanlifers connect when their roads cross. Share your route, discover who’s nearby or heading your way, and turn shared destinations into real-world meetups.

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VanMates

Inspiration

This project was inspired directly by Quin Gable’s video.

In it, she shared a very real frustration: as a solo female van lifer, dating and building meaningful friendships on the road feels almost impossible. Traditional apps assume stability — that people stay in one place. Nomads don’t.

That emotional gap resonated with me immediately. I realized this wasn’t just about dating. It was about belonging, safety, and connection within a small and protective community.

VanMates was built as a direct response to that need.

What it does

VanMates connects nomadic people who will be in the same place at the same time.

Users can:

  • Set their current location
  • Add upcoming destinations
  • Filter by timeframe (next month, 2–3 months, etc.)
  • Discover other van lifers nearby — now or in the future
  • Connect based on shared activities

Instead of matching static profiles, VanMates matches overlapping journeys.

It lays the foundation for:

  • Nomadic dating
  • Activity-based friendships
  • Builder-to-builder connections
  • Invite-only access for community protection

How we built it

VanMates was built using Chat GPT x Figma Make x Cursor with :

  • React Native (Expo)
  • Supabase for backend and database
  • Map-based geolocation logic
  • RevenueCat for subscription infrastructure

The core architectural decision was to treat travel context (current + future locations) as the central source of truth powering Map and Discover views.

Time and location are both first-class dimensions in the app.

Challenges we ran into

Adding time as a filtering dimension significantly increased complexity.

We had to design:

  • A consistent mental model for map behavior
  • A unified filtering system across Map and Discover
  • Clear logic for how “You” is represented when filtering future destinations
  • A flexible architecture without creating orphan filter states

Maintaining UX clarity while handling dynamic geolocation data was the biggest challenge.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Shipping this MVP in 10 days aside a 9 to 5 (found out a bit late about this contest)
  • Designing a system that connects trajectories, not just locations
  • Creating a time-aware geolocation model
  • Building a scalable filter architecture
  • Implementing invite-code logic to protect the community
  • Shipping a working subscription infrastructure ready for launch

Most importantly, we transformed an emotional need into a working product.

What we learned

We learned that adding time to location-based logic fundamentally changes product design.

We also learned:

  • How to structure global state across multiple views
  • How to maintain UX consistency in spatial interfaces
  • How to build with scalability in mind from day one
  • How to prioritize in order to deliver a true MVP

And most importantly, we learned that technology should facilitate real-world connection — not replace it.

What's next for VanMates

The roadmap includes:

  • Activity-based matching expansion
  • Builder consultation marketplace
  • Stronger invite-only and safety mechanisms
  • Smarter route overlap detection
  • Community-driven moderation tools

VanMates aims to become the social infrastructure for the nomadic world.

This is just the beginning.

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