An AI-Powered HR Software Built During Power Cuts

When blackouts hit Sri Lanka, most people complained and wrote how Sri Lanka was doomed. Kaje Velummaylum used the downtime to build AI-powered HR software that now helps healthcare businesses in Australia.

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The $50B Problem Small Clinics Still Solve With Excel

While many founders chase unicorn valuations, Kaje focused on something most ignore: the rostering chaos in small healthcare practices and aged care facilities. These 40-person clinics and 60-staff homes are still running payroll in Excel or paying for bloated enterprise tools they barely use.

After graduating from the University of Moratuwa and completing a Computer Science master’s from the National University of Singapore , Kaje could have taken the safe route. Instead, he started serving general SMEs, then zeroed in on healthcare, specifically the 10–100 employee range that almost every vendor overlooks.

Running a Startup Between Queensland Clients and Colombo Blackouts

Kaje runs RomeoHR as the only founder based in Australia. His development team, 9 full-time employees and 15 interns, works out of Sri Lanka. Managing this setup means dealing with power cuts, currency swings, and the occasional political upheaval.

"It feels like running a global race with weights around your ankles, and still believing you can win," he says. Meditation helps him handle the stress of coordinating across time zones and countries.

The distributed approach wasn't accidental. It took him a full year to clear government, security, and QA approvals to serve Australian healthcare businesses. Now he's got five healthcare customers in Australia and retail clients in the UK.

From 35 Hours to 4: What AI Rostering Actually Delivers

RomeoHR's core feature is AI-based rostering with automated time tracking. While competitors add AI features to existing systems, Kaje built the platform with AI from the start.

The results are tangible: operations managers who used to spend 35 hours weekly on schedules now finish in 4 hours. It's integrated with ATO, STP, and Xero, the boring but necessary stuff that makes Australian businesses tick.

Kaje isn't pitching billion-dollar markets or hockey stick growth. His goal is AUD $50,000 ARR in the next 12 months. Modest? Maybe. But he's building something that works for businesses nobody else wants to serve.

Healthcare SMEs need better tools now. Compliance requirements keep getting stricter, and manual rostering falls apart when you're managing 50+ staff across multiple shifts. Most software either costs too much or assumes you have dedicated HR people.

Why Healthcare SMEs Are the Market No One Wants

The pivot to healthcare happened after working with general SMEs for a while. Healthcare businesses have specific needs, shift patterns, compliance requirements, and staff certifications. They also tend to stick with solutions that work, rather than constantly switching platforms.

His fear isn't about competition. "I know RomeoHR solves real problems. As a solo founder managing across two countries, I sometimes worry execution speed may lag behind our product's potential."

RomeoHR is trying to make life easier for the businesses that keep communities running, without the price tag or complexity that drives them back to spreadsheets. And that’s exactly why, against all odds, it’s working. Kaje chose healthcare over easier markets for a reason. Sometimes the harder path leads somewhere worth going.

Every week, I feature an early-stage tech startup founded by a Sri Lankan. I hope this will create awareness, bring people together and inspire the younger generation.