Why I’m Willing to Build in One of Tech’s Most Difficult Spaces: Grief and Mental Health

Why I Am Willing to Build in a Difficult Space

When you work in grief or mental health, people often expect a single defining story.
A moment of loss.
A justification.

I understand the instinct.

But reducing this work to one personal event oversimplifies what is actually required to build responsibly in this space.

What is personal for me is not a single incident. It is a long-standing discomfort with how poorly technology handles emotional complexity.

We design systems for efficiency and scale.
Then we act surprised when they fail people in vulnerable states.

Across years of research and corporate experience, I’ve seen well-intentioned teams prioritise speed, cost, and optimisation over human nuance. Not maliciously. Simply because businesses are measured on efficiency and delivery.

Emotional experiences are not edge cases. They are central to how humans make decisions, form trust, and build loyalty.

Increasingly, people are turning to technology for mental health support — whether because therapy is inaccessible, expensive, stigmatised, or simply overwhelming to seek.

This shift is already happening. It will not reverse.

The question is not whether technology will sit inside emotionally sensitive spaces.

The question is whether we apply the same efficiency-first lens — or design with the human emotional experience as the starting point.

At Solace, we are exploring how technology can support grief and legacy in a way that honours the weight of both.

I sometimes think about the conversations I would have if I could sit with my grandparents again.
I would ask my grandmother for her creamy rice recipe.
I would ask my grandfather what life was like during the Spanish Civil War.
The questions that only emerge when it’s too late.

Memory fades.
Voices disappear.
Presence dissolves faster than we expect.

Technology does not have to trivialise that. It can be designed to preserve dignity, context, and continuity.

Building in this space is challenging. It invites discomfort. It raises ethical tension.

It should.

Every meaningful technology has felt foreign before it felt normal.

The responsibility is not to avoid difficult spaces.
The responsibility is to enter them with restraint, integrity, and care.

That is why I am willing to build here.

First posted on Linkedin 22 FEB 2026