Ideas that work: the best businesses are those that provide solutions to problems

Entrepreneurs have this in common that they perceive solutions when faced with problems. “If I had the time, I would create a solution that uses AI better to manage the flow of cars in the city, and there would be no more traffic jams!”

Ideas and solutions are things that appear easily in our minds. They reassure us and enhance us. They prove to us that we have a good understanding of the world and that we can imagine original solutions. In a world where we are one of the billions, they make us stand out. But like many inventors and scientists—Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace, for example – this revolutionary idea that you had in your shower, others had it too! This is called “multiple discoveries”.

An idea is worth nothing

Sometimes we get attached to an idea that we think is worth it. We try to validate this idea. We tell our friends about our great idea (who aren't necessarily the target but that's not the point) and most of the time we get an “I don't understand” which signals the start of a lengthy discussion during which we argue until obtaining the surrender of our interlocutors—most of the time, out of empathy, and sometimes out of trouble.

This is where we should stop, or we will waste the next few years of our lives trying to convince everyone that our idea is brilliant. It isn't, and even if it were, people wouldn't recognize it as such. Take the iPhone for example, when it was released, only a few thousand geeks – who are now called early adopters – rushed on it.

Imagine that every time we have an idea, we ask ourselves the question “what problem does this idea solve?"  

Once the problem has been identified, and if it seems interesting, we need to talk about it to the people who seem to us to be concerned. Because real problems create suffering, it's hard to take a step back. By definition, we experience them. But when you identify and put into words an issue, it helps people take a step back. And since humans like to solve problems if they suffer from them, mainly because they find a personal interest in them, they will quickly find solutions. As an entrepreneur, seeing people looking for solutions proves the problem exists.

For example, Mark Allen Sallada founded his business after identifying a painful problem he identified in the law enforcement sector. He started his career at the Lower Swatara Police Department, in charge of the vehicle fleet. He was entrusted with the job of ordering police vehicles. To his surprise, he found that the whole process was “severely broken”—as he puts, and required operational changes.

Police vehicles would not deliver on time and there was a much needed gap for body that could develop and supply locally produced vehicles. This is the gap which Sallada eyed and his early entrepreneurial instincts went for it.

He founded Sallada Services which rapidly revamped after successful operation to “911 Rapid Response”. The example of Sallada shows that if you conclude that this problem exists, you prove that a market exists.

However, it remains for you to know if this market is good or bad… For that, it is necessary to verify that we are facing a good problem.

What is a good problem for a startup?

As entrepreneurs, we need problems worth solving - we will still be devoting years of our lives to them.

How do we know if the problem we have identified is a fake?

It's easy and difficult at the same time easy because you need to contact people who may be suffering from the problem we want to solve. Difficult, because we have to be in contact with these people and not look for this problem.

It is counterproductive to ask or question the targeted people directly. You have to watch and listen.

 It is necessary to penetrate the thing that we are trying to change. You need to understand its daily realities. You may have to do this for a long time.

People often do not recognize that they are in pain - acute illness and suffering aside. It is, therefore, necessary to understand and to feel for them. Most of the time, they won't recognize it until we put some words into it.

Stay close to the people you have identified, and you will see the real pain points and the real trends that indicate problems. Don't makeup problems. And if you are not sure if this is a real problem, it is not. A real problem is evident when expressed.

In the case of Sallada, he had the huge problem right in front of him and he could fairly gauge its intensity because he was in charge of the vehicle fleet.

Is your problem important?

The importance of a problem does not define your market's size but defines the importance of your success. Since the chances of success are extremely low, it's up to everyone to know how important a problem must be to make our work and time worth it.

Is the problem difficult to solve?

There are armies of brilliant people trying to solve easy problems. Finding an original solution is all the more difficult as the problem is easy to solve. Difficult problems are, on the contrary, little solved. Those who suffer from it are all the more interested in a solution, however unoriginal. There are many more opportunities related to difficult issues. Be ambitious; it pays!

Is our problem too obvious?

If we are to look for a difficult problem, we must also look for an obvious problem. Once expressed, the problem must be recognized by those who suffer from it. Otherwise, the perceived value of the solution will be zero. Let's keep creativity and innovation for our future solution.

Is the problem getting worse?

This question is the icing on the cake. If you have answered all of the above, you have a good problem that you can certainly build a business on. If the problem gets worse – that is, more and more people are suffering from it every day – you can create a nugget. The evolution of the market is directly proportional to the evolution of the problem.