Why the problem is more important than the solution?

Samar Tomar
Jul 25, 2017 · 2 min read

In the startup world, we give Idea a lot of importance, it’s by default that idea has to be very good before we start working on the startup. After working on several startups and having years of experience in the field I can say that our obsession towards Idea is wrong, our obsession must be with the problem, we must be obsessed by the problem we want to solve and not the solution or the Idea. One problem can have several solutions if a solution for the problem doesn’t work, its ok, we can find another solution for it.

These days idea is not the main cause of failure as most startups pivot several times before they find market-product fit but the main cause of failure is a lack of proper execution, pay attention and improve how you execute. Every time you pivot and try to solve a problem in a different way, hold on, retrospect and find what went wrong and where you lack in execution, improve those areas. What I observed that successful start-ups marries to a problem, they come up with several solutions to solve that problem and pivot every time they fail to find a market-product fit, on every pivot they retrospect and find what went wrong and improve that in next iteration, they do it until they find a market-product fit. If a startup marries to a solution, they would find it difficult to pivot as they exist around this particular idea but if they take this idea as just one solution to the problem they are solving, it’s easy for them to move on and find another solution. So marry to your problem and keep pivoting until you find a market-product fit.

Samar Tomar

Written by

An entrepreneur, blogger, productivity hacker. I believe in observing my behaviour and emotions to learn mysteries of human kind, it is my journey to the wisdom

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