Build Your Company On A Problem, Not Solution
Businesses come in all shapes and sizes. The one thing that separates the good from the great, is solving a real problem.
It’s easy to look at today’s tech giants and forget that each of them found their feet solving a very specific problem. They didn’t set out to disrupt entire industries or change the behaviors of a generation. They had a singular idea with a clear, viable solution that was validated every step of the way.
Look at Segway, 3D TV and Tidal. They all had great solutions, but when you launch with millions in advertising it can take a dangerously long time before you realize it’s not the product that’s flawed, it’s the underlying problem (or lack thereof) that you’re trying to solve. Of all the mistakes you can make, this is the only one that’s irrecoverable.
So how do you know if your problem is worth solving?
Great problems and their solutions all share these 5 qualities:
1. They tie Objective, Motivation and Barrier to one another
Airbnb’s objective is to create immersive travel experiences. The underlying motivation is to create unique memories and shareable stories. The barrier was a lack of easy access to those experiences as there was no efficient platform for consumers to break out of the cookie cutter hotel experience.
When framed like this, it’s clear to see how a well defined problem offers up its own solution.
It is crucial that your problem has these three components. Without an objective it’s not a problem. Without a strong motivation it’s not worth solving… and without a barrier there’s no solution needed.
Next step is to validate.
Most founders skip this step altogether. Sometimes it’s ego, sometimes it’s blind optimism, but it’s always a mistake.
Do people actually have your problem? Are they really embodying the motivations you’ve identified? Is the barrier really what’s stopping them? Even if you you come back with ‘Yes’ to all three, you then have to then ask yourself if that audience big enough for your business to be feasible.
I’ve seen founders spend years building out excellent products, only to realise when they go to market that their problem didn’t exist, or all five people in the world with that exact problem didn’t have enough motivation to solve it.
By breaking your problem into its components, you can see your competition in a whole new light. It’s not just who’s got a similar product in the market you should be mindful of, it’s every other way someone might solve that same problem. That could be a phone call to a friend, five minutes on a google search, a short errand or even just not bothering to do anything. Ignoring the problem is it’s own solution. Oftentimes, this is your real competition, and these are the habits and behaviors you’re competing against.
2. They change behaviors, but not too much
“When it comes to new product or service adoption, the outcomes follow an inverted U-shape curve. If something is too novel, it’s unfamiliar, weird and harder to understand. But if it’s exactly the same as what is happening already, it’s boring and there’s no reason to change behavior. In between, though, it’s just right.” — Jonah Burger
It’s easy to get carried away exploring the cutting edge of everything, but there’s no better way to lose customers than to make them frustrated and confused.
Truly changing behaviors takes years of incremental change. When launching a new product, it’s important to think about the absolute minimal way to solve your problem. What basic activities have to change to facilitate this? What’s the minimum amount of disruption required?
A well defined problem shouldn’t need a complex solution.
3. They stand the test of irrelevancy
Assuming all goes well, by the time you’ve established a strong product-market fit, built a loyal audience and broken into the mainstream, it’s going to have been a couple of years at best. With this in mind, you shouldn’t be designing a solution that only addresses the problems of today. You should be thinking about market forces and new technologies about to enter the commercial sector. Think about how people will be behaving differently, how they will create a new set of needs and what external forces will be changing the landscape. Your problem needs to be adaptive along these parameters as well.
Sometimes the best test is to simply ask yourself, “is this a problem worth solving in 5 years?”
Beyond time, and should you find a great solution to a great problem, what’s to stop an industry heavyweight from adding a single feature and eclipsing your entire business?
Great problems are distinct and specific enough that a new solution is almost always required to solve it.
4. You’re willing to (nearly) die many deaths for it
‘Why you?’
If you don’t ask yourself that question, your investors will. Team is the third biggest reason startups fail, and you need to be concerned about this question.
There’s two aspects here.
First is commitment. It’s going to take more time, money, effort and sacrifice than you thought it would to build your startup. Your team needs to be managing their expectations, motivations and commitments frequently and openly. Write them down and revisit regularly.
Second is skills. Why shouldn’t an investor just pay a skilled team to do what you’re doing? What unique advantages do you have? If that’s a hard question to answer then you need to be working on your team. One of the easiest ways to do this is finding advisors who can offer years of experience where you need it most.
5. It creates a whole bigger than it’s parts
When you build a company on a problem, not a solution, you establish a purpose. This allows your product and brand to adapt. Your business becomes about a mission, not a feature, and it focuses your strategy, product, messaging and marketing into one narrative that keeps you on track.
The dating app Bumble wanted to fix the online dating experience for women. It’s a clearly defined problem that has allowed them to try new things, build a loyal audience and stand out in a very crowded market. Waze wanted to get around the traffic for faster directions, and this allowed them to build an engaged community who work together to spot the best routes. Something a traditional map would never be able to get the data for.
So ask yourself, “is this a problem people believe in solving?” “Is it a mission worth sharing?”
Aligning your business with these five points can take you out of the competitor rat race and give you a new approach, language and vision for you business. So start thinking about the problem. Solutions are the easy part.
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