If you don’t know the problem you’re solving, any road will lead you nowhere.
And if you don’t know who you’re solving it for, no one will be waiting for you.
Ideas are worthless free floating distractions that can lead you to into the venture desert to die.
Yet, if you can listen and learn from the needs of potential customers and users where to apply them, they can become the wellsprings of innovation to solve a problem or open up an opportunity.
Now, let’s help you define the problem you're going to solve uniquely well for who, so your path becomes clear and you’re welcomed with open arms!
Defining the problem is the first step for a reason. It’s the most important step.
“If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.” — Albert Einstein
It’s also the most overlooked step, as it seems obvious, yet the nuances of it are the things that later come back to haunt startups as they scale.
Click on the links below to review each framework to help you define your problem or opportunity:
For who are you solving this problem? Define your Is the problem you’re solving Unworkable, Unavoidable, Urgent, and Underserved? Qualify and verify whether it really is Urgent, or just Latent and Aspirational vs Blatant and Critical. Underserved, is there a White space (space in the market for a new solution) or is there a lot of competition? use the framework to do this.
If you want to get some inspiration and understanding on both the mindset and approach to problem solving, read:
These articles will help you to discover how Amazon Web Services came about, learning from Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO and get further inspiration from