5 Pointers Why You Should Build Your Company on a Problem

A Thought Leader Guest Post from Jean-Louis Rawlence of Medium:

Build Your Company On A Problem, Not Solution

Businesses come in all shapes and sizes.

The one thing that separates the good from the great, is solving a real problem.

It’s easy to look at today’s tech giants and forget that each of them found their feet solving a very specific problem. They didn’t set out to disrupt entire industries or change the behaviors of a generation. They had a singular idea with a clear, viable solution that was validated every step of the way.

Look at Segway, 3D TV and Tidal. They all had great solutions, but when you launch with millions in advertising it can take a dangerously long time before you realize it’s not the product that’s flawed, it’s the underlying problem (or lack thereof) that you’re trying to solve. Of all the mistakes you can make, this is the only one that’s irrecoverable.

So how do you know if your problem is worth solving?

Great problems and their solutions all share these 5 qualities:

1. They tie Objective, Motivation and Barrier to one another

Airbnb’s objective is to create immersive travel experiences. The underlying motivation is to create unique memories and shareable stories. The barrier was...