STARTUP STORY
TURNING TRAVELLER WISDOM INTO REAL-TIME PROTECTION
For years, Monika Misztal roamed the world as a solo female traveller, trusting her instincts and the occasional Google search. But one trip in Southeast Asia changed everything.
“I was heading to a very popular waterfall,” she recalls. “My taxi driver suddenly stopped in the middle of nowhere, and within seconds I was surrounded by men demanding money to visit the waterfall. It was a scam that had been happening to travellers for years—but there was no one place to warn people about it.”
She waited for someone else to solve the problem. No one did. So Monika decided she would.
A Shared Vision, Born in Aotearoa
Several years later, in New Zealand, Monika met Sandra Nguy Dinh—another Polish traveller who understood the thrill, risk, and occasional naivety of travel all too well.
“Monika told me about this idea she’d been holding onto for years,” Sandra says. “Instantly, I knew we had to build it. I solo travel, I solo hike, I’ve seen things go wrong. I knew how useful this would be.”
Together, they brought in two more Polish co-founders—developer Szymon and designer Klaudia, who had also fallen in love with New Zealand during their travels. From four laptops spread across Auckland, Poland, and Slovenia, Tutai began to take shape.
“Tutai is a Polish word meaning ‘here’. We wanted something that reflected our roots while capturing the idea of being present—right where you are—and having the information you need in that moment.”
“I Didn’t Know What I Didn’t Know”
Beyond safety, another problem quickly surfaced: cultural awareness. Sandra recalls the moment she realised how easy it is for travellers to unknowingly cause offence.
“I climbed a sacred mountain here in New Zealand,” she says. “I didn’t know it was sacred. I stood on the summit, took a proud photo, and posted it online. Later, I learnt how disrespectful that was. I felt terrible.”
Cultural mistakes like this aren’t malicious—they’re symptoms of scattered information and unreliable guidance when travellers need it most. Tutai began to grow into more than a safety tool. It became a way to travel respectfully, responsibly, and confidently.
Building What Travellers Actually Need
From the beginning, Tutai was built on real traveller experiences. “At first, the app was supposed to look a little different,” Monika recalls. But after speaking to over 100 travellers and collecting their feedback, the team realised people wanted more than recommendations—they wanted to report issues and warn others.
“That’s when we added alerts through the app, verified by other travellers,” Monika explains. “We still include our own recommendations for places to go and things to do, but now it’s complemented by community-driven insights.”
They also discovered travellers’ frustration with information overload: hours spent Googling health advice, visa requirements, emergency numbers, and practical travel tips. Tutai addresses this by offering a digestible ‘travel helper’ for 160 countries—everything a traveller needs, without endless scrolling or long articles.
A soft launch of an Android version tested early demand, and the response was encouraging. “We gathered 90 testers in just three weeks, and our iOS waitlist has already surpassed 140 people,” Sandra says. “It confirmed that people genuinely wanted this app.”
Getting Tutai off the ground wasn’t just about ideas—it was about moving fast. “We have an amazing developer and designer,” Monika says, “who’ve built apps that scale to millions of users. They know how to build it quickly.”
The team leveraged AI to accelerate development, producing their first prototype in just a month—a version that already felt like a real product. “We showed it to people, and they said, ‘That’s actually a product already,’” Monika recalls.
Of course, speed comes with intensity. On top of developing the app, the team built a community, engaged travellers, and ran social media—a whirlwind of tasks demanding focus and energy.
“It’s not easy, but we’re experts in our fields, passionate, and truly believe in this project. That’s what keeps us going.”
Finding Support, Clarity, and Community
Turning an idea into a functioning startup required guidance, and that’s when they connected with Startup Aotearoa.
“The support has been huge,” Monika says. “Our coach, Keren Phillips, helped us validate our direction, identify our real customers, and prioritise features instead of trying to build everything at once.
Having someone who understands startups, who challenges you, and who believes in what you’re building changed everything. It made us feel like we weren’t doing this alone.”
Monika reflects on the personal side of that support: “I’d only been in New Zealand two years. We wanted to connect with other founders and people in the startup environment. Reaching out to organisations like Startup Aotearoa was key. When Keren was assigned to us, it was just amazing. The moment I showed her our app, she immediately had ideas for marketing, growth, and next steps. It felt like the perfect fit.”
Beyond coaching, Startup Aotearoa helped them expand their network, test assumptions, and chart a clearer commercial pathway. “Keren helped us bring in mentors, connect with brilliant people across New Zealand, and unlock doors we didn’t even know existed. It’s unbelievable how much can happen in just a few months,” Monika adds.
“It’s one thing to have a great idea,” Sandra sums up. “It’s another thing to build a company. Startup Aotearoa helped us bridge that gap.”
Keren Phillips - Startup Aotearoa Coach