We combined top-down analysis of social, governmental and cultural narratives with bottom-up consumer diaries that captured a week’s worth of real-life inefficiencies. The breakthrough came in the form of a deeply embedded cultural reflex: ngakalin. The everyday Indonesian instinct to hack or work around broken systems. This became the linchpin that connected the founder’s mindset with consumer experience, and offered a powerful lens through which to express Gojek’s role in users’ lives.