Sometimes the smallest source of frustration can lead to the biggest innovation in an industry. Once you identify the major pain point and start work to resolve it, often the solution appears to be simple, yet revolutionary. This is the case with innovation. You need to sweat the small stuff.

Case in point, Away, a suitcase company who found a way to innovate luggage, an industry not known for innovation.

Away’s co-founders Jen Rubio and Stef Korey conducted extensive research regarding travel and technology. They found travelers are embarrassed not only about their luggage, but their packing skills. To make matters worse, modern travelers are increasingly becoming frustrated about the fact their phones are dying while in flight.

The solution: Revolutionize the way we use luggage. 

They created a sleek, durable, tech-savvy piece of luggage allows you to pack more than one pair of shoes. Oh, and it charges your phone while you travel.  

How about digitally enhancing a hotel concierge? Marriott launched an app to bring the front desk, and all their amenities, to the palm of a customer’s hand. The app can manage your reward account, make a reservation and even act as a digital room key. Simple and effective.

Here at 6AM, we struggled for a long time using out-of-the-box CMS solutions. Each of our clients had unique demands, and wanted truly custom user experiences. No matter how many widgets or custom HTML code we wrote, we were never able to truly launch the site we had set out to build. Our solution: Launch our own, fully-customizable CMS called Hits In A Box. Now we can help our clients deliver unparalleled experiences for their site visitors, and track performance over time to make improvements along the way.

The next time you find yourself struggling with something that’s simply in your way, ask yourself: Is this an opportunity to solve a problem?