VanMeet — Written Proposal

Problem Statement

Solo van lifers face four interconnected problems that no existing app solves:

Dating is broken for nomads. Traditional dating apps assume users stay in one place. Van lifers describe it perfectly: "I'm looking for someone to travel with me, not stay in one spot." Every match on Tinder or Hinge fails because the van lifer leaves and the other person stays.
Making friends on the road is isolating. Van life is a tight, protective community, but there's no centralized way to find other nomads nearby who share your interests — climbing, surfing, hiking — at the same time you're passing through.
Getting van build help is risky and fragmented. Builders are found through Facebook groups and word-of-mouth with no reviews, no verification, and no accountability. The community has long asked for "a builder aspect where people building their vans can connect with builders for a fee."
Safety is paramount. Solo women van lifers emphasize that the community is "really small and really protected" and they want to "make sure everyone has been accounted for." Existing platforms have no verification tailored to van life.

Target Audience

Primary: Solo van lifers and nomads (estimated 1M+ full-time in the US alone, growing 15–20% annually)
Secondary: Weekend warriors and van-curious people planning builds
Demographics: 25–45 years old, adventurous, remote workers, value community and safety
Community focus: Solo female van lifers who prioritize safety and authentic connections

Solution Overview

VanMeet is a mobile app (Android, with iOS planned) purpose-built for the van-life community. It has 7 bottom navigation tabs (Discover, Chat, Scout, Routes, Builders, Likes, Profile) organized around five core feature pillars:

Feature	What it solves	Free	Pro
Discover	Nomadic dating & friend-finding with swipe/grid browse, filter by Dating/Friends/Near Me/Routes Cross, search by interests/travel style	5 connection requests/day	Unlimited
Builder Marketplace	Find 3 types of verified builders (Nomad, Mobile, Workshop) with reviews, skills, map/list view, direct contact (WhatsApp, call, website, Instagram)	—	Full access
Community Forum	Knowledge sharing (Build Help, Showcase, Tips, Parts & Gear) with images, likes, replies	3 posts/day, unlimited browse	Unlimited posts
Route Intersector	Log routes with start/end points, timing, activities, women-only toggle; find route matches; wave system for lightweight connections	✔	✔
Camp Scout	Find campsites, RV parks, water, fuel, toilets, dump stations, AI-powered events nearby with radius control	3 results	Unlimited

        Trust & Safety System
        (core priority):

        Photo verification via AWS Rekognition face liveness —
        required for dating · Van verification via Google
        Gemini Vision AI · Trust score (50–100) with visible badges on every
        profile card · Women-only route matching toggle for female travelers ·
        Community vouching, reporting (6 reason categories), and blocking ·
        Admin dashboard (Appsmith) for report review and user management
      

Monetization Strategy

Single tier: Nomad Pro — powered by an integrated subscription management SDK.

Why this model works:

The Builder Marketplace is the anchor monetization feature. Van builds cost $5,000–$80,000+. Access to verified builders with reviews and direct contact (WhatsApp, phone, website, Instagram) is worth a monthly subscription to anyone actively building. Builders come in three types (Nomad, Mobile, Workshop) — workshop builders don't even need to use the app regularly; their profile is a permanent listing.
Blurred dating photos for free users create a natural upgrade moment — you can see the first photo, but additional gallery photos on dating profiles are blurred until you subscribe.
Free-tier limits on connections (5/day) and posts (3/day) create upgrade moments without crippling the free experience.
The community forum stays free to browse, driving engagement and organic growth.
Routes and route matching are free for all users — this drives the core social loop.

Subscription SDK Integration:

purchases_flutter SDK integrated with Google Play billing
Single "pro" entitlement checked via isProProvider (Riverpod) — used in 10+ files across the app
FeatureGate widget for binary pro/free gating (e.g., Builders tab locked overlay)
DailyUsageNotifier for daily limit enforcement (connections, posts) — inline checks in each feature page
Subscription status synced to Supabase users.subscription_tier for server-side enforcement
Customer info listener for real-time status updates across all screens

Pricing (configurable via subscription dashboard):

Monthly and annual plans (annual with per-month savings highlighted on paywall)
Paywall triggered from: Builders tab (locked overlay), connection limit reached, post limit reached, camp scout limit, blurred dating photos, profile settings

Product Roadmap

iOS launch — TestFlight → App Store submission
Fix builder-vanlifer account separation — allow builders to also participate as van lifers without separate accounts
Stripe Connect — In-app builder payments with platform fee
Convoy live location sharing — complete real-time location tracking between convoy partners
Invite-only access — referral codes for organic community growth
AI route suggestions — Weather-aware, season-aware travel recommendations
Creator partnerships — Work with van-life creators to promote VanMeet for real-world distribution