Don’t waste your time building something no one wants.

At this early stage of your startup journey, your biggest risk isn’t a lack of funding or poor execution, it’s solving a problem that doesn’t matter. According to the CB Insights 2021 Startup Post-Mortem Report, the most common reason startups fail cited by 42% of founders is simply: “No market need.” 

This isn’t just about having a “bad idea.” It’s about building without deeply understanding what real people actually need. A 2020 Startup Genome study found that 9 out of 10 early-stage startups fail because they launch without achieving problem-solution fit, meaning they build before validating whether the problem even needs solving.

The lesson? No matter how sharp your design, how strong your team, or how exciting your tech, none of it matters if you’re solving the wrong problem. Before anything else, your job as a founder is to ask: Is this a problem that’s painful, specific, and real?

Here’s how to make sure your startup idea is solving something real and not just something that sounds good in theory.

1. Is This a ‘Drop-What-You’re-Doing’ Kind of Problem?

The best startup problems feel urgent, not optional. If your user can “live with it” indefinitely, the problem isn’t painful enough to inspire real behavior change and certainly not adoption.

Take KhataBook, for example. This Indian startup exploded to over 10 million users because it solved a daily headache: Small shopkeepers were losing track of who owed them money. That pain was costing them real income, every single day.

Would those shopkeepers have downloaded a general “finance management app”? Probably not. But an app that helps them get paid faster? That’s immediate. That’s real.

2. Do You Know Exactly Who Has This Problem?

If your target user is “everyone,” your insights will be vague and your solution even more vague. Successful early-stage startups focus on one specific user segment. This not only sharpens your interviews but also leads to real traction.

Take the example of Edkasa, a Pakistani edtech startup that raised $320K. They didn’t try to “fix education.” They focused on a narrow segment:

“High school students preparing for board exams in underserved areas” was Edkasa’s target. By narrowing their focus to a very specific pain point faced by a well-defined user group, they were able to create tailored content, design targeted outreach, and build credibility quickly. Instead of spreading themselves thin, they solved one problem really well and that precision helped them raise funding and scale with purpose.

Startup tip: Define your user like you’re writing a character. Where do they live? What do they use now? What’s keeping them up at night?

3. How Are They Coping Today?

If users aren’t trying anything to solve the problem, chances are they don’t feel it strongly enough. But when users are hacking together messy solutions spreadsheets, WhatsApp groups, manual workarounds that’s where startups grow. Those improvised fixes are signs of real frustration and unmet needs that are just waiting to be solved better.

In a 2022 Y Combinator survey, 60% of successful founders said their idea came from noticing a user “hack” a clear sign that existing tools weren’t working.

Your job isn’t to create pain, it’s to find it, where it’s already costing people time, money, or peace of mind.

4. Solving the Symptom or the Source?

Early founders often fall into the trap of building for symptoms instead of causes. Let’s say your user says, “I wish there was an easier way to find scholarships.” The surface problem might be “discovery.” But if you dig deeper through interviews, you might find that the real issue is lack of mentorship, confusing websites, or eligibility filters. Great founders don’t settle for the first complaint. They go three levels deeper to find what’s really broken.

Remember: your solution is only as good as your understanding of the why.

5. Would This Still Be a Problem If Your Startup Didn’t Exist?

This is the ultimate gut-check. If the only reason this “problem” exists is because your solution needs it to then it’s not a real problem. It’s just a pitch. The strongest startup ideas don’t invent problems, they uncover ones that already exist.

In most successful cases, users were already struggling and trying to fix the issue themselves, even with clumsy or incomplete solutions. That’s what makes the problem real.

So ask yourself:

“If we never build this, will people still be stuck with this issue next month?”

If the answer is yes you’re solving something that matters.
If the answer is no you’re probably building something no one asked for.

We have made a free 5-question checklist to help you and your team test whether your problem is actually worth solving.

This is a team activity, not a solo reflection. Ask everyone on your team to answer the questions separately, then compare.
If your answers don’t line up, your direction isn’t clear yet and that one conversation could save you weeks of effort, confusion, and backpedaling.

Click here to download the checklist.

FAQ