The Fantasy of "Solving a problem"

Some entrepreneurs want to "solve a problem" for other people or "satisfy a need" for others. However, solving problems and having a business are two different things. For example, an APP developer might want to analyze what 2 year olds need and make a software.

The biggest problems with the "solve a problem" motive is the following:

1. You will have a hard time reaching your targeted audience

2. People have many problems. If you solve someone's number two problem but don't solve the number one problem, it does not get any attention.

3. A lot of problems are not really "easily solvable". There is no silver bullet. If you try it people will see right through.

It is nice to solve a problem, but often times there is no business sense in providing that solution. If it is a one time deal, then there is no sense because it can be done only once. It is like if you play guitar for a train of passengers. It is fun but you won't get paid.

Actually building a new business should never adopt this "build and see if people come" approach. This does not work anymore. The world has too much noise and there are too many people competing. If you want impact, you want to design the biggest impact for the biggest people. If you want to have a business, build in a fat market.