One of the first questions you’ll get as a founder is: “So, what problem are you solving?” It sounds simple. Yet many founders answer it with vague statements, buzzwords, or grand visions that lack grounding. That’s fluff. Worse, it betrays that you might not really know the problem.
If you can’t answer this question clearly, you lose trust. Investors, partners, customers, they all want to see you understand the real pain, not just your product idea. In this article, I’ll walk through how to answer it honestly, precisely, and with impact. Also how tools like PitchPad Lens and PitchPad Edge can help you validate that your “problem” isn’t made up.
Why This Question Matters More Than You Think
Let me start with a story. I once sat in a founder pitch where the answer was: “We’re building tools for better engagement in learning.” Very noble. Very high level. But when pressed, the founder couldn’t tell me which engagement, for whom, why it’s bad now. I left unsure.
A well-defined problem does more than sound good. It serves as your north star. It guides product choices, prioritization, marketing messaging, and user acquisition. It becomes the filter through which investors judge you.
Harvard Business Review argues that many companies fail simply because they tackle the wrong problem or define it too loosely.
Similarly, Visible.vc reinforces that your problem statement should be crisp: vague or longwinded problems make people second-guess your conviction.
If your problem is fuzzy, your solution will be fuzzy. And fuzzy doesn’t build businesses.
What Good Problem Answers Sound (and Feel) Like
Before we dig into “how,” here’s what good answers often share (and things to avoid).
What good ones do:
- Be precise: Who feels the pain? What is the pain? How bad is it?
- Empathy: They show you’ve listened. You’re not inventing pain; you observed it.
- Contrast with existing solutions: You show why current options fail.
- Data or stories: A supporting number, a customer quote, a relevant anecdote.
- Scalable scope: The problem is widespread, not just for your lucky neighbor.
What weak ones do:
- Speak in abstractions (“we improve engagement,” “we reduce friction”) without anchoring.
- Use jargon or buzzwords (“synergy,” “disruption,” “blockchain for …”).
- Confuse solutions with problems (e.g. “We solve inefficient UX by …”).
- Lack evidence or sound hollow.
Pitch deck guides like Vestbee emphasize that your “problem slide” should highlight what people are already experiencing, show magnitude, and paint the consequences of not solving it.
Also, in “30 Startup Experts Share How to Get the Problem Slide Right,” empathy, data, and clarity are repeated by both investors and consultants as top criteria.
How to Formulate a Problem Statement, Step by Step
Here’s a process you can follow to move from abstract to clear, testable, real problem statements.
Step 1: Empathize Deeply
Talk to users. Don’t pitch your idea yet. Ask open questions: “What frustrates you?” “What takes more time than it should?” “What have you tried?” Listen more than you talk.
Empathy is the bedrock. Many founders skip it, relying on their own intuition. But judgment from real users helps ground you. The more patterns you see, the stronger your problem statement will be.
In research, affirming pain is often more important than imagining it. People live their problems. Observe.
Step 2: Use the “5 Whys” or Root Cause Techniques
Ask “why” repeatedly. If someone says, “It takes me too long to schedule meetings,” ask why. They’ll say maybe overlapping calendars, or manual coordination. Keep peeling until you reach a root pain underlying that behavior.
Jake Mendel writes that the 5 Whys helps you move from surface statements to deeper truths about why the problem happens.
Don’t skip this many shallow problem statements are just symptoms.
Step 3: Quantify the Problem
Where possible, attach metrics. What percentage of time is lost? How many users are affected? If 30% of businesses struggle with document versioning, say that.
Even if your numbers are approximate or from adjacent markets, they lend credibility. Without them, statements feel speculative.
Step 4: Define the Affected Segment & Context
Problems aren’t universal. It might be heavy for enterprise teams in regulated sectors; or gig workers in small towns. Specify who, where, when.
E.g. “Small non-tech teams in remote regions spend 2 hours per week reconciling data between tools because integration is tedious.”
The specificity helps your product decisions and messaging.
Step 5: Show Why Current Alternatives Fail
State what people do now: manual workaround, spreadsheet, multiple tools stitched together, using legacy systems. Then show their shortfalls cost, effort, lack of integration, usability, etc.
This contrast helps anchor your problem in real life, not fantasy.
Step 6: Iterate and Test
Write your first draft. Share with 2–3 trusted users. See if they nod, frown, disagree. Revise. Don’t get stuck in perfection — refine as you build.
Integrating PitchPad Lens & Edge to Strengthen Your Problem Claims
One danger in all this is that founders will still invent problems or overreach. Tools like Lens and Edge give you guardrails so your problem is anchored in reality.
- PitchPad Lens: It surfaces market demand signals, trends, competitor frequency, textual sentiment. If many people are searching or complaining about a problem, Lens will flag it. That confirms your problem isn’t just your hunch.
- PitchPad Edge: It helps you see feature gaps among competitors, how often they address or fail similar issues. You can see where others tried and failed or where the pain is underserved.
Using these tools as filters lets you avoid chasing phantom problems. They guide you toward problems real enough to act on, not just idealistic.
For example: you see in Lens that 5 competitors mention “sync latency issues” in reviews or changelogs. You use Edge to confirm that feature in those products is weak. That suggests a real pain to target.
Sample Problem Statement Formulas (With Realism)
Here are templates you can adapt. I often sketch three versions when writing mine.
- “[User group] struggle with [pain] because [root cause], which leads to [negative consequence].”
Example: “Freelancers managing multiple client tools struggle with dashboard fragmentation because no tool consolidates tasks and finances, resulting in missed deadlines and manual reconciliation.” - “When [context], [user] experiences [pain], currently addressed by [poor alternative].”
Example: “When juggling multiple clients, freelance consultants experience workflow breakage, currently addressed by spreadsheets and reminders, which break when scale increases.” - “In [domain], many users fail to [desired outcome] because [obstacle], causing [undesirable result].”
Example: “In small agencies, many teams fail to maintain consistent reporting because integrating data sources is laborious, causing revenue forecasting errors and client distrust.”
Always accompany your draft with a story or quote to ground it.
What Investors & Experts Look For in That Answer
When an investor asks, “What problem do you solve?” they’re not being polite. They’re testing:
- Clarity: Can you express the problem in one or two sentences?
- Understanding: Do you grasp the root, not just the symptom?
- Scale & urgency: Is the problem big enough and urgent enough to motivate change?
- Proof or signals: Do customers admit to this pain? Are there data points or verification?
- Differentiation: Why now, why you, and why this problem is underserved?
In many pitch deck guides, the problem slide is one of the most scrutinized. Investors tell me they often reject decks where the problem is too vague or the solution seems to be pitched prematurely.
Consultants also agree that empathy (telling the user’s story) and data (magnitudes, metrics) are top priorities when founders craft a problem slide.
If your answer is too fluffy or generic, that’s a red flag. It signals you might not have done the foundational work.
Mistakes Founders Make When Answering That Question
I want to warn you of errors I see often (and sometimes fall into myself).
- Starting with solutions e.g. “We built an app to …” rather than, “Users struggle because …”
- Wishful generalization e.g. “Everyone wants …” or “All businesses suffer …”
- Overpromising making it sound as though your solution is magical or will fix everything
- Using internal jargon what sounds clear to you might not to others
- Ignoring contrary signals You see a competitor doing well in that space; but you pretend the problem is unmet. That’s hubris.
- Neglecting testability Your problem should invite experiments, metrics, validation. If you can’t test whether the problem is real, it’s too vague.
One startup post-mortem said their downfall was building a “dream solution” for a problem they never validated. They had features; they had enthusiasm; but customers said “we don’t feel that pain strongly enough.” They built hard and expensive. That’s the risk.
Putting It All Together: Steps to Practice
Here’s a distilled workflow to help you answer “What problem are you solving?” with substance:
- Interview 10 target users with open questions, no pitch
- Capture pains and root causes cluster them, repeat the “why”
- Build 2–3 candidate problem statements from templates above
- Test resonance share with users or advisors, see what resonates
- Cross-check with data/tools use Lens/Edge to validate signals
- Pick one for your pitch / narrative, but keep refining
- Evolve it over time, feedback may push you to sharpen/change it
Over time, your problem statement becomes a living hypothesis you continually test.
Final Thoughts
Answering “What problem are you solving?” is not just elevator pitch fluff. It is the bedrock of your product, your strategy, your narrative. If your problem is vague, your startup will wobble.
Be precise. Show empathy. Use real user insight. Don’t promise too broadly. Make it testable. Use tools like Lens and Edge to anchor your claims. And above all, remain humble and the problem you think you solve may not be the one users feel most.
