Are the best startups built on boring problems?
by•
I came to exactly the same conclusion that real startup ideas often come from «simple and boring» problems. From my own experience: I spent three years on a startup that was supposed to «revolutionize» online education, but in the end it had 0 users. Now I’ve just started solving a simple problem for home appliance repair technicians and immediately got my first paying users on a very rough MVP.
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ProblemHunt
The comment is taken from here: https://www.producthunt.com/p/problemhunt/6-new-problems-to-build-a-startup-problemhunt
minimalist phone: creating folders
What I have seen very often is the fact that founders were trying to resolve their own problems, e.g.
– fighting social media addiction – digital detox apps
– connecting with peers in distance (first social media)
– having easy-made food prepared fast (sandwiches come from John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich)
... so usually it sometimes seems like a matter of coincidence. :)
ProblemHunt
@busmark_w_nika Nika, you speak almost like Paul Graham. I completely agree with you! Probably, solving your own problems is the best way to create a successful startup. Because you will have a better understanding of what solution needs to be built. 😊
minimalist phone: creating folders
@gostroverhov Ohhh, such an honour. Entrepreneurial spirit inside me :D
ProblemHunt
@busmark_w_nika 100% 👏
Dirac
Yeah most of the ideas that are "revolutionary" and "unique" are marketed as that because the founders need to hide behind flashy keywords. But the "boring" ideas are all able to be big fish in small pond, which is better than being a krill in the ocean.
ProblemHunt
@peterz_shu Love this analogy. Being a big fish in a small pond beats flashy buzzwords any day. Thanks for putting it so clearly 👏
@peterz_shu Good metaphor!
In a small pond you also get a much clearer sense of the real boundaries of the problem - what actually matters and what doesn’t, which makes decisions easier and cuts down on illusions
Dirac
@yan_petrov_vvv Yeah 100%
I have boring problem I'm trying to solve with my first launch...finding a fair meeting spot. At least, I think it's boring. I tried to make it sexy though. Looking forward to getting feedback!
ProblemHunt
@bradshannon Oh, that sounds interesting! Looking forward to the updates 😊 And if you have anything to share, I’ll always be happy to see you on ProblemHunt.pro
@gostroverhov Thanks! I'll check it out!
Triforce Todos
Three years wasn’t wasted, it trained you for this win. If you had to start again, what would you skip entirely?
ProblemHunt
@abod_rehman Good question! Here’s what I wrote to myself in my personal diary a few months ago:
«Start from the customer and their pain. Build everything around that, not around your own ‘wants and vision’. BUT the pain must be STRONG and confirmed by a willingness to pay for its solution. Everything else is secondary.
Also, calculate unit economics — it must be positive. And look at the market size — it has to be large, otherwise you’ll only make pennies.
You need to look specifically for STRONG pain. Weak pain is usually bullshit in the end and doesn’t lead to money or growth. So TEST the STRENGTH of the pain first.»
100% agree. It's the same energy as "do what you love and money follows" - sounds cliche until it actually works.
I couldn't find a life planner that looked the way I wanted, so I built one myself (thanks, vibe coding). Turns out other people wanted the same thing. No revolutionary idea, just scratching my own itch.
Boring problems are underrated.
ProblemHunt
@virtualviki This is a great story and a real-life example. Thank you for sharing!
ProblemHunt
Another example that comes to mind is DoorDash. Their product was built in a couple of hours “on the fly” and immediately started solving a real delivery problem for small cafes and restaurants in a small town.
I think many founders fall into the prestige trap—they chase revolutionary ideas because it sounds better on a pitch deck and feels more cool than solving a routine, everyday problem. But as @gostroverhov experienced, the market doesn't care about how prestigious your idea is if it doesn't solve a daily pain point.
The paradox is that solving a boring problem often yields much higher demand and immediate cash flow. As a PM, I see that boring products aren't just safer bets, they are the engines that buy you the time and money to actually build something revolutionary later.
ProblemHunt
@valeriia_kuna Valeriia, wow, that's a really cool way to put it! 👏 Thank you for this comment and the perspective you have. It's valuable :)
100% yes. My most-used product started because my wife and I couldn't decide what to cook for dinner. That's it. A recipe swiper app. Boring problem, but it's something millions of people deal with daily.
Meanwhile the "sexy" AI products in my portfolio get way more attention on Twitter but way less actual daily usage.
Boring problems = recurring pain = people actually come back. Flashy problems = cool demo = one-time use.
ProblemHunt
@mykola_kondratiuk Mykola, thank you very much for sharing your experience — I absolutely agree with you!