
# Defining the problem: common issues


Conventional wisdom in the product space (be it digital or physical) is that you’re in the business of solving a problem for people. And that, in exchange for solving that problem people will pay you money.

  

The **other** conventional wisdom says that **not being sure of the problem you’re solving** is how most start-ups fail.

  

Products fail when they don’t meet product market fit. At the risk of sounding obvious - People aren’t going to buy things they neither need nor want.





Knowing this, why is it that so many products fail? There’s thousands of reasons, but let’s start at the very beginning: **defining the problem.**


  

### Common Issues

  

1. Not understanding the problem sufficiently

2. Not checking if it’s big or painful enough

 3. Fear of finding flaws with the opportunity



## 1. Not understanding the problem sufficiently

  

It’s not enough to see *a* problem. You have to become a master in what we call ‘the why’ of the problem. You’ve got to dig deeper.

  

But what if you’re trying to solve a problem in a domain you’ve got years of experience in? This is a common catalyst for a lot of products, where scratching your own itch has lead to a revelation that, hey, maybe others need this product too?

  

This is a great way to start. However, we advise caution in diving in before setting a direction on what problem you’re really solving. You have to step outside the comfort of what you believe to be true and validate it, but even more when you’re an expert due to your bias.

  

## 2. Not checking if it’s big or painful enough.

  

Some problems just aren’t that painful to fix or too narrow that it impacts too few. Not always a bad thing, but assuming everyone has the same caliber of problem can lead to poor results.

  

## 3. Fear of finding flaws with the opportunity



When you don’t challenge your idea, or at the assumption of the problem the idea fixes, you run an enormous risk of mishandling your product-market fit. You should challenge your idea and your understanding of it. Ask others if they are afflicted by the same challenges as you are. Ask what they do about it. Go looking for how people are solving the problem. 

  

## **How to de-risk defining your problem**

  

- Talk to people impacted in the ‘problem-space’ directly.

- Review any research or secondary research in the space you’re in.

- Talk to a subject matter expert (most experts' rates somewhere between $150 to $300 an hour) the ROI on a few hours with an SME on their area is well worth it.

- Checkout specific community or sub-groups (Reddit.com is a **gold mine** for what people are experiencing or thinking)

- Keep asking **why** something happens (if your answers become philosophical you may have gone too far)


> By putting an MVP out there and testing how customers respond, founders are supposed to avoid squandering time and money building and
> marketing a product that no one wants.*
> 
> Yet by neglecting to research customer needs  -before-  commencing their engineering efforts, entrepreneurs end up wasting valuable time
> and capital on MVPs that are likely to miss their mark..
>
>   [Harvard Business Review - Why Businesses Fail by *Tom Eisenmann*](https://hbr.org/2021/05/why-start-ups-fail)


Defining the problem: common issues





Why product-market is less product, more market.

Back in 2012, I co-founded a startup that focused on disrupting the film rental market. Think 'Uber' for high-end film gear.

I was co-founder and CTO. I worked like a dog for 18 months. 

It didn't work. 

It didn't work for a few reasons, and in retrospect, I could've saved about 20k and 18 month of my own time and resources, not to mention our investors money. If I invested more time in understanding the problem and the people that it impacted, I think I would've either concluded that it was a bad idea, or, I would've changed practically everything - the product, the user-acquisition strategy, the time invested, the stupid t-shirts (100% cotton though, so maybe not everything).

## Myth: "Once our users see it, THEN they'll get it." 

This is a common misconception and, in my experience, predictated on two things; a) laziness b) fear. 
Laziness, because, frankly, designing and building a product is way more fun then talking to people. And Fear, because if I ask if people really would want my product, they might say no. And, damn it, I've come too far to turn back now! 

Former me was more of an idiot that present me. I wasn't a 'dreamer', I was a fool. I pulled on every lever to overcome that nagging self-doubt about the product - "Steve Jobs said stay hungry, Stay Foolish!!", "I'm a visionary! I see what the world doesn't see!". Ugh, get a grip. 

What I lacked in market research, I made up for in delusion. 

## My time again 

Ok, so here's how I'd approach things today, me being wiser and all. 

First, I'd start with defining the problem / opportunity space.

For example,  *A camera guy owns a 100k camera. He rents himself and the camera out for 3 months out of the year as a contractor. For the remainder of the year, his gear is left dormant, depreciating in value.* 

Is it just one person that works this way or is it more common? Why does it work like this? Does he lend his gear to colleagues or friends? 

I want ask at least as many people as I can these questions. I can then start grouping them and finding patterns where I can apply potential solutions.

I think if I spent three months researching instead of delving straight into build, I'd either realise that my "idea" wasn't going to work -at all- OR that the solution would be executed differently. I'd have a better idea of the problem, how our potential users thought about it, and what we could do to ensure our approach would work. 

If you've got an idea or an inkling of something, take a breath. Do your research, or get us to help you. You'll save time, money, and be far more likely to have product-market fit. 













Hatch Head

Strategy

Defining the problem: common issues

Just because you build it, doesn't mean they'll come

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