Pathloom
Uncovered the single biggest unmet need in backpacking trip planning through structured discovery, not assumptions.
Client · SOLO PRODUCT · CONSUMER TRAVEL APP
What we walked into
Backpackers had dozens of surface-level complaints about trip planning apps, but no one had done the work to find out which pain point was actually worth solving first.
What I owned
Led product discovery end to end using an Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) framework — designed the interview guide, ran the interviews, built and fielded the survey, and synthesized findings into a prioritized opportunity list.
The discovery process
- 01
Discovery
Conducted [MOCK: 40] one-on-one interviews with backpackers across experience levels, using ODI's outcome-statement method to surface unmet needs without leading the conversation.
- 02
Validation
Turned interview themes into a structured survey, fielded to [MOCK: 340] respondents to rank and quantify each outcome statement by importance and satisfaction.
- 03
Synthesis
Scored every outcome statement on an opportunity algorithm (importance minus satisfaction) to find the highest-opportunity gaps, tracked in a living Notion research doc.
What we found
Permit acquisition — not gear, not route planning, not social features — emerged as the single highest-opportunity pain point. Backpackers described [MOCK: missing permit windows, losing track of application deadlines across multiple park systems, and last-minute scrambling that sometimes cancelled trips entirely].
Research at a glance
- Interviews conducted
- [MOCK: 40]
- Survey responses
- [MOCK: 340]
- Top opportunity score — permit acquisition, vs. next-highest at 5.1
- [MOCK: 8.2/10]