The Real Story
What started as 635kg is now 941.5kg of managed inventory. This is how ML Coating went from WhatsApp messages to business-critical software.
Nicolas runt een groeiend bedrijf, maar zijn voorraad zat alleen in zijn hoofd. Geen overzicht, geen zekerheid, geen grip.
In April 2025, I visited my best friend Nicolas at his new powder coating business, ML Coating. Walking through his warehouse, I saw boxes everywhere – different colors, different brands, different finishes.
"How do you track all this?" I asked.
Nicolas shrugged. "I just... remember."
I spent hours researching existing solutions. Every single one was either complex or overkill for a one-man operation. Enterprise features, approval workflows, multi-warehouse support – Nicolas just needed to know what he had in stock.
That's when I thought: "I've been exploring AI coding tools... why not try building something myself?"
Geen lange meetings, geen dikke specificaties.
Elke feature, bugfix en verbetering verliep via WhatsApp.
De beste specificatie is directe feedback via WhatsApp.
Zo bouw je software die écht werkt voor de gebruiker.
Here's what I learned quickly: Nicolas is not computer-minded. He can send emails, sure, but complex software? Forget it. This constraint became my north star.
Every feature request came with the same filter: "Niet te veel en te moeilijk maken" (Not too much and too difficult). This wasn't about showing off technical skills. It was about solving a real problem for a real person.
I didn't nail it on the first try. Or the second. The journey went like this:
Every step brought us closer to the real solution:
Prototype fast → Test live → Ship to production.
No endless specs, just building, testing, and improving—together.
First Lovable, then Netlify, finally Replit. Each iteration got us closer. Each deployment taught me something new. And Nicolas? He kept testing from his phone in bed at 22:32.
"Heb wat liggen doen op gsm want lig al in bed, maar ziet er goed uit 🧑🍳🧑🍳"
— Nicolas, testing at night
By May 14th, ML Coating was running in production. Real inventory. Real business. Real results.
First production version
That "Nu wel 😊" – that's when I knew we'd built something real. Not a demo. Not a prototype. A tool that Nicolas uses every single day.
The best part? We're not done. Nicolas keeps having ideas, and I keep building them. Every feature request becomes reality within days.
He wants it as his iPad homepage. He's thinking about cost tracking. He's invested in making it better because it's his tool, built for his business.
Looking back, I didn't just build an inventory system. I discovered that:
Dit is geen portfolio-project, maar software die een bedrijf laat groeien.
Two months later, ML Coating isn't just surviving – it's thriving. The numbers tell the story better than I ever could:
Live screenshot taken today
The growth is real: From 33 to 58 powder types. From 635kg to 941.5kg. And remember that feature request about pricing? Every single item now has its purchase price tracked – €5.80/kg for RAL 9005, €6.20/kg for RAL 8019.
The UI evolved from basic tables to a professional interface with:
But here's what the screenshot doesn't show: Nicolas logs in every day. He updates quantities after each job. He checks what needs reordering. He knows exactly what his inventory is worth.
This isn't a portfolio project gathering dust. This is business-critical software managing real inventory worth thousands of euros. The 941.5kg at an average of €6/kg? That's over €5,600 of inventory being tracked, every single day.
And it all started with a WhatsApp message: "bestaat er geen software om heel dit te gaan beheren?"