Vindmolen — laptop hero with Listings dashboard on a map-pattern background

♠ Applied AI

Vindmolen

Born out of a mix of AI experimentation and experience with the Dutch housing market, Vindmolen is a vibe-coded concept designed to improve the rental search experience. Vindmolen acts as an aggregator, providing relevant leads and AI-assisted applications to help ease search-fatigue.

Role
Product owner
Timeline
3 week sprint
Team
Solo project
Year
2026

02

The Problem & The User

The Challenge

The Dutch rental market has devolved into a high-stakes arms race where speed is the only metric for success. Renters are forced to juggle multiple subscriptions and are trapped in a relentless 24/7 loop of alerts. This email roulette creates a bottleneck: with viewings often fully booked within minutes, even the most diligent seekers can spend months without a single invitation to visit a property.

The User

I designed for the high-intent searcher, typically a digitally native young professional or expat. They are exhausted by sending a thousand love letters to landlords, only to be met with silence. They need to know if a property matches their specific criteria before investing energy into an application.

400k

housing deficit, creating a climate of scarcity

1/40

chance of viewing per application

150+

instant inquiries for an Amsterdam apartment

03

The Approach & Process

Research & Discovery

When formal API access from the major providers was unavailable, I developed a web scraping strategy focused on public metadata. For this approach, I needed to ensure the project remained non-disruptive and legally sound under EU Database Rights. The final concept functions as a referral layer, extracting only the necessary data to guide users back to the original listings.

Vindmolen — Scout (web scraper) scraping process

Scout (web scraper) scraping process

04

Brand & UI system

The name Vindmolen combines vind (find) and windmolen (windmill), a Dutch-forward name for a Dutch rental problem. The logo is built around a negative-space X that reads three ways at once: Amsterdam’s city cross, “X marks the spot” for discovery, and the crossed blades of a windmill. House silhouettes frame the symbol so it stays anchored in housing, not abstract tech. Rather than another sterile, blue property site, the interface borrows inspiration from premium fintech dashboards: JetBrains Mono for crisp, data-dense type, and a loud-but-controlled palette of lavender, lime, and neon pink so listings and filters stay scannable under stress. The aim is simple: speed up comprehension and give renters a tool that feels focused and professional.

Vindmolen brand at a glance — wordmark, logo, typography, palette, and UI samples

Vindmolen brand at a glance

05

The Solution

Vindmolen is a rental search platform designed to turn the friction of the Dutch housing market into a structured, AI-assisted workflow.

06

Reflection & Learnings

What I Learned

Building Vindmolen was my first solo 0-1 project, instilling in me the power of ownership and the necessity of technical adaptation. By utilising Cursor Pro, I have learnt to manage agentic workflows that bridge the gap between product intent and functional code. Navigating EU Database Rights independently also sharpened my ability to solve complex legal constraints through creative technical solutions.

What I Would Do Differently

In future iterations, I would partner with an engineer to apply a four-eye principle to backend security and architectural decisions. While the prototype is functional, professional validation would ensure the system is built for scale, particularly for the automated notification system & web scraper etiquette. I would also allocate dedicated time for formal user testing rounds to refine the UX/UI and expand the brand strategy into a comprehensive marketing plan for a public launch.