Your problem sucks – Day 77/139

I’ve been told entrepreneurship is not about finding good solutions but about finding good problems. Companies tend to concentrate on solving problems that do not exist.

When you start to develop a company, start solving a problem that is tangible and that you can relate to.

For the last two months we’ve been solving a problem that we’ve learned to love. We love our problem because it’s both demanding and rewarding. Our problem raises emotions and can be easily understood.

Ask yourself these two questions:

1. What do you do when you accidentally lose something precious?
2. What do you do if you find something someone else has lost?

Without going too deep into the solution or the business models, we should stop and think if the problem is any good. Any problem should produce answers to these questions:

1. Is there an existing solution? Yes, definitely. There always is.
   
2. Are people unhappy with the existing solution? Yes. On quite a few levels actually.
   
3. Is the existing solution a sizable business? Yes. A few M€ annually in Finland.
4. Could it be done better than currently? Yes. It can be done cheaper, faster and with higher level of customer satisfaction.
   
5. Could our team do it? Absolutely!

Now count the yeses. If you don’t have 5/5 your problem most likely sucks.