Five Problems Exploration Method
Turn problems from your own life into testable business opportunities
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 97%
The method begins by reclaiming uninterrupted time from passive media consumption and deliberately listing problems encountered in your own life. Personal problems provide useful context because you already understand the users, frustrations, and circumstances better than an outsider might. After identifying several candidates, investigate each problem rather than immediately building a product: examine current alternatives, suppliers, access barriers, demand, and branding. Existing competitors do not invalidate the opportunity because most businesses are iterations. The decisive question is what distinctive contribution you can make—through execution, positioning, technology, convenience, or customer understanding—that would allow your version to succeed.
Origin
Shahzad Younas described this method while explaining how founders can generate ideas, using an imagined unpasteurised-milk business to demonstrate the exploration process.
Core principles
- 01Protect time for deliberate thinking
- 02Start with problems you personally understand
- 03Identify problems before proposing solutions
- 04Investigate existing alternatives and suppliers
- 05Define the contribution that would make your version distinctive
How to run it
- 1
Create thinking space
Set aside intentional, distraction-free time with a blank page. Do not rely solely on ideas appearing spontaneously during other activities.
Pro tip Temporarily remove entertainment and notifications so free time is genuinely available for thought.
Watch out Consuming more content can feel productive while preventing original reflection.
- 2
List five personal problems
Write down five problems from your work, routines, interests, or personal circumstances. Record problems even when you cannot yet imagine a solution.
Pro tip Prioritise frustrations you have repeatedly experienced or observed firsthand.
Watch out Do not begin with an abstract market that you do not understand.
- 3
Explore the alternatives
Research how people currently address each problem, who supplies the available solutions, and where access or quality breaks down.
Pro tip Include indirect workarounds, not only products marketed as direct competitors.
Watch out The existence of competitors does not mean the problem has been solved well.
- 4
Test for meaningful demand
Look for communities, behaviours, or repeated complaints indicating that other people share the problem and care enough to seek a solution.
Pro tip Pay attention to unusually passionate niche communities because they can support focused early products.
Watch out Personal enthusiasm alone is not evidence of a viable market.
- 5
Define your contribution
State how your version would solve the problem differently or substantially better. Identify the insight, capability, positioning, or execution advantage you bring.
Pro tip Express the contribution in one sentence that can guide early validation.
Watch out A cosmetic difference without customer value is not a durable contribution.
In the wild
Younas imagines someone dissatisfied with available milk who researches dairy alternatives, existing suppliers, delivery access, consumer interest, and the absence of strong branding. The exploration could reveal a niche audience seeking direct access and a brand positioned around freshness.
→ A personal preference becomes a specific, researchable opportunity rather than an unsupported product idea.
Younas understood the difficulty professional Muslims faced when seeking marriage and found the available websites poor and intrusive. His knowledge of the community, technology, and business gave him a credible contribution to an existing market.
→ The problem led first to a side-project website and eventually to the Muzmatch app.
Common mistakes
Waiting passively for inspiration
Ideas may arise spontaneously, but relying on chance avoids the deliberate work of identifying and investigating problems.
Rejecting any idea with competitors
Most successful businesses improve or reposition something that already exists; competition can confirm that demand is real.
Starting outside your understanding
A market may appear attractive while leaving you without the firsthand insight needed to recognise important user needs.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for first-time founders seeking ideas connected to their experience or interests.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for founders already committed to a validated opportunity or pursuing research-led deep technology.
From the transcript
“I'm gonna think about five problems that I have.”
“rather than just thinking generically focus on your own life, because that's the stuff that you will relate to and understand, hopefully, better than anyone…”
“What you're trying to find or trying to identify is what your contribution is that you think will make this thing successful.”
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