Why I Built "The Hangout Spot": Bridging the Gap Between Structure and Spontaneity
By day, I’m a Marketing Director for an e-com brand. My life is ruled by calendars, KPIs, project management tools, and rigid organization. I have to be "on" all the time.
Because I spend 40+ hours a week being hyper-organized, I am famously terrible at planning my personal life. When I finally get free time, I don’t want to send calendar invites. I want flexibility. I want to just... exist, and see who else is around.
But there’s a friction there. We’ve all felt it. You’re sitting at home, bored, wondering what your friends are up to. You want to hang out, but you don't want to text "Wyd?" to five different people and feel like you’re bugging them. You want a way to virtually leave your front door open—to say, "I'm chilling, and if you want to drop by, you're welcome."
That’s why I built The Hangout Spot.
The "Accidental" Engineer & The $15 Server
I don’t have a Computer Science degree. I didn’t go to a coding bootcamp. But technology is my absolute biggest obsession.
I’m the guy running local AI models in his basement and hosting Google Drive alternatives on home servers. I love the freedom of owning my data. For a long time, I wanted to build a social platform myself—running on my own metal, my own rules. And that’s exactly what I did. This entire platform runs on a single $15/month VPS.
It’s humming along perfectly. It’s a testament that you don’t need to burn thousands on AWS or Azure just to launch an idea. You need efficient code, smart architecture (Docker containers), and a willingness to get your hands dirty.
Privacy by Design (The "Squad" Mentality)
Because I built this as a user first, I made decisions that big social media companies would hate.
- Your Squad is Private: We don't do "public followers" or searchable directories. You build your Squad—your private list of connections.
- Segmented Privacy: You can limit hangouts to specific Squads. If I host a "Board Game Night" and limit it to my "Nerds" squad, my other connections won't even see it in their feed.
- Anonymity First: If you’re looking at a hangout, we anonymize people who aren't in your Squad. You connect with people you know, not strangers.
"Bat Signals" & "Heartbeats": How It Works
The biggest challenge was building a social app that felt alive without the noise of group chats.
1. The "Hype Board" (No DMs) I didn't want another inbox to manage. There are no DMs. Instead, every event has a Hype Board—a comment feed limited to 140 characters. Every comment and heart contributes to the event's "Heartbeat," animating the feed so you can physically see where the energy is.
2. Frictionless Entry (The "Magic Link") Since there is no public directory, adding friends had to be slick.
- In Person: Scan a QR code (expires every 2 mins for security).
- Remote: Text a Magic Link (expires in 14 days).
- The "One Friend" Fix: My biggest fear was: What if I'm the only one on the app? We built Event Share Links. If you send this to a friend who isn't on the app, one click automatically creates their account, connects them to you, and opens the RSVP page. Zero friction.
The Best of Both Worlds
I built this for the two sides of my brain:
- The Planner: You can schedule events and use the "Vibe Check" button. If you're 72 hours out and the RSVP list looks bleak, one click pushes a gentle nudge only to the people who haven't RSVP'd yet.
- The Spontaneous: You can just post an "Open House." No time, no rigid plan. Just a signal flare (Bat Signal) to your Squad that you’re around.
The "Toast"
When the night is over, the host can "Send a Toast"—a final message that marks the event as complete and thanks everyone for coming. It’s the digital mic drop on a good night.
Building in Public (And I Want Your Help)
Because I’m having fun with this, I’m developing live. New features are rolling out all the time (sometimes on a Friday night when I get a sudden idea).
I built a dedicated Feedback & Bug Report tool right into the app. If you see something weird, or if you have a "wouldn't it be cool if..." idea, tell me! I’m actively listening. I want you to be part of the roadmap. Let’s build the best place to hang out, together.
Join the Beta
This project was a labor of love, built using a locally hosted git instance, antigravity for the heavy lifting, and AI as my coding partner.
I am currently in a Closed Beta, meaning you can't just sign up on the homepage yet. However, I’ve activated viral invite links for this launch. Use the link below to skip the waitlist and join the hangout spot today!
See you there.
