Ideas & Opportunity

Do I even have a real problem, or just a solution I'm attached to?

A starting point

Most failed startups solve a problem nobody was losing sleep over, so pressure-test the pain before anything else. A real problem shows up as people already spending money, time, or a spreadsheet-and-duct-tape workaround to deal with it today, if there's no current workaround, there may be no real pain. Try to describe the problem for a full paragraph without once mentioning your product, if you can't, you're in love with the solution.

Go deeper

Hand-picked from around the web, each with a note on why it earns your time.

3 resources 3 link-checked Watch Read

Watch

▶️ Video
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

Why we picked it Uri Levine co-founded Waze and Moovit, and his whole message is that attachment to a solution is a startup killer. In this candid talk he argues the founders who love the problem keep going when the first idea fails, while the ones in love with their idea quit the moment it does not work. A useful gut check if you suspect you are defending a solution instead of chasing a problem.

Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution

On FranklinCovey On Leadership by Uri Levine ~30 min

Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution
  • Fall in love with the problem, not the solution, because your first solution will very likely be wrong.
  • Founders committed to the problem persist through failure and pivots; those committed to an idea give up when it stalls.
  • Value comes from solving a real problem, so let the problem, not your ego for the idea, steer every decision.
Watch on YouTube youtube.com →

Read

✍️ Essay
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

Why we picked it The definitive essay on where good ideas come from: notice problems you personally have, don't force it. Use it as the lens for judging whether your idea is a real problem or a solution in search of one.

How to Get Startup Ideas

From paulgraham.com by Paul Graham ~20 min read

  • Live in the future and build what's missing.
  • The best ideas look like bad ideas at first (schleps and hard-to-explain).
  • Start with problems you have, in a domain you actually know.
Open paulgraham.com →
📄 Article
✓ Link checked Free Beginner

Why we picked it A concrete method for confirming the pain is real before you fall for your own fix, framed as the painkiller versus vitamin test. It pushes you to look at what people already do to cope (competing products, workarounds) and to sell before you build, which is the fastest way to find out if anyone actually hurts. Use it as a checklist, not a verdict.

Painkillers vs. Vitamins: How to Find Customer Pain Points That Drive Sales

From Foundr by Amy Rigby ~15 min read

  • A painkiller solves an urgent, present pain people pay to relieve now; a vitamin is nice to have and easy to skip, so be honest about which you are building.
  • Study existing products and workarounds to see where customers are already coping, since a real problem usually leaves visible traces.
  • The true test is to ask people to buy now, not "would you buy this", before you spend time and money making it.
Open foundr.com →

People also ask

What does 'validating an idea' actually mean? Validation is gathering real-world evidence that a specific group of people has a painful problem AND will change their behaviour (pay, sign up, sw... Beginner 3 resources → How do I know if my idea is any good? Judge it on the problem, not the solution: is it a real, frequent, painful problem for a reachable group of people, and are you unusually well-plac... Beginner 4 resources → How do I validate an idea without building anything? Replace the product with a conversation, a manual service, or a landing page. Interview people about the problem, hand-deliver the outcome yourself... Beginner 3 resources → How do I talk to customers without getting false positives? Never pitch your idea in the interview, it invites polite lies. Ask about their real life and past behaviour: the last time they hit the problem, w... Beginner 3 resources → How many people should I talk to, and how do I find them? Aim for enough that patterns repeat, often 15-30 focused conversations before signal stabilises. Find them by going where the problem lives: your o... Beginner 3 resources → What is an MVP and what's the smallest one I can build? An MVP is the least you can build (or fake) to learn whether your riskiest assumption is true. Often it isn't software at all: a manual service, a ... Beginner 3 resources →