The Path Here
The story behind TrekMeetHi, I’m Manish.
By day, I work in software, but I have always admired the healing power of nature and the outdoors. I believe that a quiet walk is the best way to reset a busy mind.
For the past six years, I have had the privilege of founding and running OZ Outdoors as a volunteer trail leader, a community that has grown to over 3,000 members. After personally leading over 400 hikes, I learned one thing: I love the trail, but getting there hasn’t always been easy.
The Digital Struggle
To find, or organise a single walk, we were forced to juggle a chaotic mix of generic apps — one for the event, another for chat, a banking app for shared costs, and a separate map app for the route. It was noisy, disjointed, and stressful.
1. Built for Parties, Not Peaks
Generic social platforms ignore the realities of the outdoors. They aren’t designed for elevation, terrain, or route planning.
2. More Admin, Less Trail Time
Instead of scouting routes, leaders are stuck posting event details, chasing payments, and copy-pasting map links. It turns passion into paperwork.
3. The Safety Gap
When live locations, emergency contacts, and itineraries are scattered across three different apps, vital information falls through the cracks.
The Return to Simplicity
I built TrekMeet to silence that chaos.
It unifies discovery, safety, offline maps and payments into one purpose-built space. We handle the logistics so you can put your phone away and actually connect with nature.
Built Different
TrekMeet is independently built by a solo, non-technical founder using AI-assisted engineering and context engineering — without any outside technical team. Every screen, every feature, every database migration was shipped through a disciplined partnership between human intent and AI execution. 27 schema versions. 38 missions. Hundreds of trails. One person with a vision and the tools to make it real.
This isn’t a startup playbook. It’s proof that the future of software belongs to the people who understand the problem deeply enough to solve it — regardless of their technical background.
This is the tool I always wished I had. Now, it’s yours.
Join me on a walk:
I’m out there almost every week. If you’re in Sydney, come say hello on a weekend hike with OZ Outdoors or an evening stroll with the Evening Walking Group.
The Trail Ahead
Status: Community Beta Live on Google Play
Phase 1: Base Camp
Completed Q4 2025We spent late 2025 packing the gear, studying the maps, and building the foundation.
- Identity: TrekMeet brand and trademark secured.
- The Blueprint: Privacy-first, offline-first architecture.
- Visuals: Crafted the “Quiet Luxury” design system.
- The Tribe: Assembled our founding feedback group.
Phase 2: The Ascent
Completed Q1 202638 missions shipped across Sprint 9. The app went from concept to a feature-complete community beta.
- Offline Maps: Hundreds of curated NSW trails in full vector.
- Solo Mode: Personal trek planning with GPX import.
- Live Trek: Real-time GPS safety tracking with SOS.
- Profile Wizard: 4-screen onboarding across 18 activities.
- Design System: DM Sans + Inter typography, glassmorphism UI.
- Google Play: Community beta live on Android.
Phase 3: The Summit View
Active — Q2 2026Cloud sync, open beta, and the bridge from local-first to always-connected.
- Cloud Sync: Supabase backend for cross-device data.
- Open Beta: Public launch on Google Play and iOS.
- Connections: Friend system and messaging backbone.
- Community Trails: User-submitted trail contributions.
Phase 4: Beyond the Horizon
Q3 2026+Intelligent tools and broader reach. The platform matures into a full outdoor ecosystem.
- AI Planner: Weekend plans generated from your preferences.
- National Expansion: Connecting communities across Australia.
- Pro Leader Toolkit: Advanced tools for professional guides.
- Weather & Safety AI: Proactive alerts before you set off.