The One Real Problem You Must Solve to Make Your Startup Succeed Some of the most successful startups didn't start with a business plan. They started with a problem. More specifically — a personal pain point.
By Sarah Austin Edited by Maria Bailey
Key Takeaways
- Build the product you wish existed by solving a problem you personally face
- Validate demand early by charging — even a small amount — to test real interest
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Dropbox was born because Drew Houston was sick of emailing himself files. ConvertKit came from a blogger who was tired of clunky email automations. Notion grew out of the chaos of managing scattered notes and documents.
These weren't random startup ideas pulled from a pitch deck. They were solutions to personal problems. And that's what made them powerful. When you build what you need, you shortcut months of guesswork. You skip the focus groups, the theoretical personas and the assumptions. You already understand the problem deeply because you live it.
Related: Got a Startup Idea? Here's What It Really Takes to Make It Work
Start with friction, not vision
The first step to building a meaningful product isn't to identify a trendy niche or chase a hot market. It's to pay attention to the moments in your day that feel harder than they should. The tasks you procrastinate. The tools you silently curse. That friction is your opportunity.
Forget disruption. Forget scale. The best early-stage products come from irritation, not inspiration. What's broken in your workflow? What are you duct-taping together every week just to get by? Start there. That's where urgency and empathy already live.
Talk to people like you
Once you spot a problem, skip the massive surveys. Talk to a handful of people who share your situation. If you're a freelancer, speak with freelancers. If you're a working parent with a side hustle, speak with others juggling the same chaos. The more overlap between you and your early users, the faster you'll know if this is a real pain or just a minor inconvenience.
What you're looking for is emotional signal — frustration, not politeness. You want someone to say, "I'd pay for that today."
Build the painkiller, not the platform
You don't need to launch a polished product. In fact, polish is usually a waste early on. Your first version can be a spreadsheet, a Notion template, a Zapier automation — whatever works. The goal is to prove the fix, not win design awards.
Don't aim for elegance. Aim for utility. If it works, users won't care that it's scrappy.
Test willingness to pay as soon as possible
This is where most people hesitate. But if your product solves a real problem, people will pay — even if it's ugly. Even if it's early. Real payment is the difference between "interesting idea" and "actual business." And it doesn't have to be much. Charge a small onboarding fee or ask for a credit card to reserve early access. You're not trying to trick anyone. You're testing commitment.
Too many founders wait until everything is perfect before asking for money. By then, they've burned time, budget and momentum. Pricing is feedback. So get it early.
Narrate the build, don't just build
While you're creating your product, share the journey. Post what you're building, what you're stuck on and what you're learning. Whether it's Twitter, LinkedIn or a Substack, showing your process builds trust. You're not selling — you're storytelling. And that attracts the right people: others who feel the same pain you're solving.
Make your first users successful
Don't rush to scale. If you're still explaining what your product does, you're not ready to grow. Focus instead on helping your early users get results. Support them. Follow up. Ask who else they know who needs this. Word-of-mouth isn't a viral fluke — it's the byproduct of usefulness.
Related: The One Simple Task That Will Help Your Startup Succeed
Build from conviction, not theory
When you build for yourself, you don't need to fake insight. You don't have to invent personas. You already understand the stakes. That shows up in the product, the copy and the customer experience. And most importantly, it builds trust. You're not a startup guessing at what might matter—you're a person solving something that already does.
Drew Houston didn't plan on building a billion-dollar company. He just wanted a faster way to move his files. That pain became Dropbox — and millions of others felt it too.
You don't need permission. You don't need a grand strategy. You need to notice the problem that keeps nagging at you — and build the thing you wish already existed.
That's where real businesses begin.
