Build What’s Missing, Not What’s Trending

Uncharted But Worth It: Building Bold Ideas in Scrappy Ways
Build What’s Missing, Not What’s Trending

You don’t have to chase what’s hot, you just have to solve what hurts. This blog explores how to spot real gaps in your industry and create solutions that actually matter.

There’s a kind of quiet pressure in entrepreneurship that no one really warns you about, and particularly with tech startups. It’s not just the long days or the endless decisions that might take your startup over a cliff or be the catalyst for unicorn growth. It’s the pull to keep up, to build what’s current, what’s getting buzz, what seems to be getting traction, what's getting funded. But here’s something I’ve learned over time: the things that create the most impact aren’t always the things that are loudest or most hyped. They’re the things that quietly make life better for the people they’re built for.

That’s always been the lens I come back to.

Most of Roamlii’s features didn’t come from blue-sky brainstorming or trend-chasing. They came from the trenches, specifically, from my time working at a resort where we were doing everything right offline but struggling to pull it all together online.

We had great experiences, but nowhere meaningful to showcase them online. Our website was solid, our search strategy was on point, and we did what we could with Facebook, but let’s be honest, algorithms aren’t built to support small businesses. They're built to keep users scrolling. And tourism-specific platforms? They prioritise what’s popular, what pays, or what wins the SEO game. Meanwhile, travellers aren’t looking for just the most-reviewed or best-optimised options, they’re looking to explore, to discover and to find something that speaks to them. That magic gets lost in the filter.

And the tools? Sure, they worked… kind of. But they rarely talked to each other. Everything felt pieced together, like trying to run a business with duct tape and good intentions. We needed better. A way to connect discovery with bookings. A way to manage leads beyond an infinite inbox and a backlog of voicemails. A way to help travellers see the full story, not just the highlights.

That’s where Roamlii came from, not an interest in building what's hot, but a desire to finally build what was missing...what was useful.

If I’d focused on trends alone, we might’ve ended up building something that looked impressive on paper, but didn’t actually fix the core issues holding people, and small businesses, back. But that’s not what Roamlii is about. We’re not here to just do another version of the same thing, we’re here to solve problems. Real ones. Ones I’ve lived through. Ones our partners live through every day.

And when you focus on those, when you build to fill a gap instead of just following what’s shiny, people notice. Not because it’s flashy, but because it works. Because it meets them where they are. Because it feels like something they didn’t realise they needed, but now can’t imagine working without.

So if you're in that early stage, and your idea doesn’t look like the latest trend, that’s not a bad thing. It might actually be the best sign you’re onto something meaningful. If it’s rooted in your own lived experience, if it addresses something real, if it solves a pain point in a way that makes life easier for someone, keep going!

There’s room for thoughtful, practical, human solutions. In fact, there’s a need for them. And yes, we use AI LLMs quite a bit, but never to replace people. People are at the core of small businesses, and are central to the best experiences in tourism. AI is at its best when it's used to supplement and support the hard work of these awesome folks.

Let’s build the things that last, the things that are useful, and the things that make lives better...not just the things that trend.

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Want to explore the tools we’ve built for the tourism sector, tools designed to solve real problems for real businesses? #GetRoaming and see how we’re helping small businesses show up, get discovered, and grow, one traveller, one town, one story at a time.

Yours in tourism, innovation and startups,

Founder & CEO
Roamlii