ToMam.pl: flipping the marketplace model with Elixir & LiveView

Building ToMam.pl, a reverse marketplace where buyers post what they're looking for and sellers compete to deliver, wasn't just a technical project — it was a long-time itch I finally scratched. The concept had been brewing for years: what if sellers came to you instead of you endlessly browsing listings?

With Phoenix and LiveView as the core tech stack, I brought this idea to life in a way that’s real-time, reactive, and fun to use.

Why this idea? Solving a real frustration

Let's face it — browsing through dozens of listings is tedious. I always felt that classifieds should start with the buyer, not the seller. After hearing others complain about how hard it was to find the right thing on OLX or Facebook Marketplace, I knew I wasn’t alone.

That's where ToMam.pl comes in: post what you want, describe your need, and let the sellers fight for your attention. It’s fast, anonymous, and designed to save everyone time.

Stack: Elixir + Phoenix + LiveView

The tech stack was chosen with speed, resilience, and developer joy in mind:

Elixir: for scalability and clean functional code
Phoenix: because it's fast and powerful out of the box
LiveView: the real star — no JavaScript fatigue, just real-time interactivity and great DX
Tailwind CSS: for rapid UI prototyping and pixel-perfect control
PostgreSQL: reliable, battle-tested, and a natural fit for Phoenix

LiveView allowed me to ship features that feel dynamic and modern (live form validation, real-time updates) without spinning up a huge frontend stack.

Challenges: finding structure in chaos

At the beginning, the hardest part was designing a model that could capture arbitrary user needs but still remain searchable and categorizable. I had to balance flexibility with structure — making sure a "used mountain bike" request is not just a blob of text, but a queryable entry others can respond to.

On top of that, building trust into the system — anonymous for buyers, but still useful for sellers — required UX fine-tuning and a focus on clear, friendly interactions.

Features beyond basics

ToMam.pl is more than just a request board:

In-app currency ("Kapsle") for offer promotions and rewards
Promo codes & daily login bonuses
Smart category and brand selection
Profile pages, avatars, notifications, and real-time messaging

Most components are powered by LiveView — modular, isolated, and testable.

Where it’s heading

This is just the beginning. I have plans to add:

An admin panel
AI-powered suggestions and auto-categorization

The core idea remains the same: make classifieds user-centric. Flip the script. Make the seller come to you.