Stick to Addressing The Problem

To face challenges and boost your creativity

Omar: I want to hear your opinion on my idea, but don’t share it with anyone
Zain: sure 🙄
Omar: an app that delivers to student dorms using motorbikes since cars are banned and we have to take the bus
Zain: wait, are you sure motorbikes are allowed on the bus route?!
Omar: you know, I didn’t ask…
…Two days later…
Omar: forget it, they said it’s not allowed 😔
*not a real story

Your enthusiasm for launching your idea at the start of your journey is intense, and it’s a powerful driver for you and your team. However, the challenge lies in clinging to the idea instead of addressing the problem. As happened with Omar, unexpected bumps can kill your project early on. Viewing the idea as one solution to the problem means you’re open to changing it to another idea that solves the same problem. This opens many paths for you to continue the journey.

Another benefit of this approach is enhancing your creative skills because you’ll train your mind to always think of multiple and innovative solutions to the challenges you face.

This approach also means looking for partners who care about solving the problem rather than focusing on those who admire your idea, and linking your company’s vision to solving a problem. Here are some examples from famous companies and how they can achieve the same vision with a different idea:

Tesla: Accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy
Alternative idea: Manufacturing high-efficiency electric car batteries and selling them to well-known car companies
Slack: Making work life simpler, more pleasant, and more productive
Alternative idea: Building a task management app

You might say: These are imaginary ideas that haven’t been implemented!
But let me introduce you to a Danish carpenter who started a wooden toy company that inspires and educates children…

The company’s famous product in its early years (source: company website)

After World War II, the founder found it difficult to get wood of suitable quality. He didn’t cling to the idea and his beautiful wooden trains despite being a carpenter. The company completely stopped using wood after the factory burned down, and here we are decades later benefiting from the many fields opened by LEGO’s shift to plastic bricks :)

The benefit in product development

Before implementing the idea requested by customers, make sure to understand the problem they are facing and look for multiple solutions to the same problem.
For example: Someone requesting a comment feature might actually be facing a problem of not feeling engaged with others. There are other solutions such as a Like or a Reaction feature.

The idea that killed the Sarahah-like app
After Sarahah was deleted, a similar app emerged and gained strong traction, then the numbers dropped sharply. Later, the founder said the biggest mistake was adding the reply feature to messages (constantly requested by Sarahah users) as all engagement became within the app without sharing content externally, affecting customer acquisition.

But… how do I come up with new ideas? (Interactive exercise)

Set your phone timer for two minutes.
Write this question on a piece of paper: How can we increase internship opportunities for university students?
For two minutes: Write down any idea that comes to mind without judging it, the focus now is quantity, not quality.
After the time is up, divide the number of ideas by 2 to get your ideaflow (e.g., 6/2 = 3 ideas per minute).

Try this exercise every morning to solve a different problem aiming to increase your ideaflow ← share your experience please😊

Omar’s idea 👨🏽

Don’t worry about Omar, he found another idea to solve the same problem and now owns the FoodScoot delivery app which uses scooters. The university agreed because scooters use the sidewalk instead of bus routes.
And guess what… he got significant support and media coverage because it’s an eco-friendly solution 🍃

Start right by focusing on solving a problem instead of clinging to the idea.