What problem validation really means for founders

Most founders think problem validation means proving their idea is good. It doesn't.

Problem validation is about discovering whether a real, painful, recurring problem exists for a group of people. It's detective work, not confirmation bias in disguise.

The difference matters because one approach leads to products people actually want, while the other leads to beautiful solutions nobody uses.

In this post you'll learn what problem validation actually is, why most people get it wrong, and how to approach it like a detective instead of a salesperson.

It's about understanding reality, not confirming ideas

Problem validation isn't about asking "would you use this?" or "do you like my idea?"

It's about asking "what's the most frustrating part of your day?" and then listening without trying to connect their answer to your solution.

Real problem validation means:

• Discovering problems you didn't know existed
• Understanding how people currently handle the pain
• Learning why existing solutions don't work
• Finding out if the problem happens often enough to matter

It doesn't mean:

• Pitching your solution to get feedback
• Leading people toward the problem you want to solve
• Asking hypothetical questions about future behavior
• Trying to convince anyone that they have a problem

The three tests every real problem passes

A real problem worth solving has three characteristics:

People actively look for solutions

If someone has a real problem, they're already trying to fix it somehow. They might use:

• Clunky workarounds
• Multiple tools together
• Manual processes they hate
• Expensive solutions they complain about

If nobody is currently trying to solve the problem, it's probably not painful enough to matter.

It happens regularly

One-time problems rarely make good businesses. You need problems that:

• Happen weekly or daily
• Get worse over time if ignored
• Create ongoing frustration or cost

A problem that happens once a year might be annoying, but people won't pay much to solve it.

Multiple people have the same problem

You need a group of people who share similar pain, not just one person with a unique situation.

Look for patterns across conversations. If five people describe the same frustration using different words, you might be onto something.

How to know if you're doing it wrong

You're probably not doing real problem validation if you:

• Start with your solution and work backward to find problems it could solve
• Ask leading questions like "don't you hate when X happens?"
• Ignore answers that don't support your idea
• Talk more than you listen during conversations
• Feel excited after every conversation because everyone "gets it"

Real problem validation often feels uncomfortable because you discover things you didn't expect.

What to do instead

Approach problem validation like a journalist investigating a story:

• Ask open-ended questions about people's current workflows and frustrations
• Listen for emotion - real problems make people visibly frustrated when they talk about them
• Follow up on specifics - when did this last happen? how long did it take to fix?
• Look for workarounds - what do you do now when this happens?
• Stay curious about answers that surprise you

The goal isn't to prove anything. It's to understand what's really happening in people's lives.

Wrap up

Problem validation is about discovering reality, not confirming your assumptions. The best founders are wrong about their initial ideas but right about the problems they choose to solve.

If you're not regularly surprised by what you learn, you're probably not doing real validation - you're just collecting evidence for a decision you've already made.