What's the PROBLEM your product solves?
In the month that I've been here, I've been noticing a pattern in a lot of launches - strong demos, polished UI, clear outputs of "what it does."
But when I ask myself "What problem does this solve?" I sometimes have to dig for the answer. (I come by that thinking honestly - I've spent 33 years building and fixing businesses, so this is the lens I can't turn off.)
The products where the problem is obvious are the ones people actually buy - you see it, you go "oh, that's exactly my issue," and you're sold on it.
It also makes pitching easier. If you're clear on the problem, explaining your product to anyone - buyers, other makers, whoever - gets a lot simpler.
And it's a small tweak with a big payoff - naming the problem clearly in your launch messaging can be the difference between people scrolling past and people stopping to actually look.
Curious what others think: when you're checking out a launch here, do you look for the problem first, or does the demo/output usually sell you on its own?
Replies
I can definitely relate to this with DeckPlan Pro. Everyone who's actually tried it has had great feedback and really liked it, but I'm still struggling to build a user base.
I think part of that is exactly what you mentioned. Early on, I focused too much on showing what the software could do instead of clearly communicating the problem it solves. Contractors waste hours doing takeoffs, quoting, and managing jobs across multiple tools. Once I started leading with that problem instead of the features, the conversations became much easier.
Building the product has been the easy part. Getting the right people to understand why they need it has been the real challenge.
@johnathan_branson Thanks for sharing this - you're most definitely not alone in this! I find tech and financial people tend to lean towards OUTPUTS (the nature of their businesses), but what Prospects want to see are the OUTCOMES from having used your product/worked with you.
If I'm struggling with X and I want to get to Y, how do I know your product/service is going to help me get there? If they can clearly see that outcome, literally everything else is secondary (the product, price, etc.). Glad you see how the conversations became easier as a result!
I look for the problem first, but the launches that actually stop me are the ones that name a pain I'd already given up on. Not a new problem, an old one I stopped noticing because I assumed that was just how it works.
I build a writing and preproduction tool for screenwriters, and the problem we solve is exactly that kind. Writers write blind. You type page after page with the whole film living only in your head, and you don't find out the structure is broken until you read it back cold, weeks later. Nobody complains about it, because everybody assumes writing is supposed to feel like that. So the hard part of our messaging isn't describing features, it's getting someone to go "wait, it doesn't have to be like this?"
That's the test I'd add to the thread. Not just is the problem clear, but did the reader already accept the pain as normal. If yes, naming it out loud does more than any demo. If they're actively hunting for a fix, the demo can carry the weight. Two different jobs.
@frank_houbre Yes, such a good addition to the conversation! You're right, these are two different jobs, though related. The ones who've given up and assume that's just how things are, need the sharpest messaging - it has to be crystal clear for them because you're literally bringing them back into the conversation. AND when you do convert them (they have a high conversion rate), they become your biggest advocates!
Your product sounds like a lifeline for screenwriters - how have those conversations gone?
I agree with this.
A polished demo can get attention, but the problem is what makes people stop and care.
I’ve been learning this while building my own product. Early on, it’s easy to explain what something does because you know every feature and decision behind it. But a new person does not have that context. They need to understand the pain first.
For me, the clearer question has become:
What problem does this solve in one sentence?
Not “what features did I build?”
Not “how much work went into it?”
But “why would someone care enough to try it?”
The products that land fastest usually make the user feel seen before they explain the full feature set. The demo then proves the solution, but the problem is what earns the attention.
@thecaptainjetto Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Tyler! THIS: What problem does this solve in one sentence - is the biggest lever. It has to be clear AND concise - if your answer sounds more like a TedTalk, you have a positioning problem. Users have to feel the problem in your answer, otherwise they're moving on.
Btw, connected with you on LinkedIn - happy to help out a fellow Canadian ;)
@anna_ludwinowski Thank you, Anna I really appreciate that.
That line is exactly what I’m working on tightening. As a founder, it’s easy to explain the whole build because I know every decision behind it, but a cold user needs to feel the problem fast.
For The Social Circle, the problem I’m trying to make clearer is:
People have different parts of their online identity, but most platforms force everything into one mixed feed.
Still refining the shortest version, but your point is dead on if it takes a TED Talk to explain, the positioning still needs work.
And thank you for connecting on LinkedIn. Always good to meet another Canadian builder/supporter.
@thecaptainjetto This is exactly the kind of self-awareness that makes for real positioning work. The fact that you're already feeling the gap between "here's what I built" and "here's why someone would care" means you're halfway there.
Your positioning isn't really "stop being scattered" - it's granting permission to expect something different from your product. Like: "Your gaming identity shouldn't require five platforms to feel complete."
That emotional shift is what flips someone from "neat feature" to "actually, I really want this!". You're offering something different that offers identity and a place of belonging. That's powerful!
the problem TAM Network solves: 92 percent of workers do not write code. they plumb, nurse, design, weld, teach, drive. none of them have a credential they can carry between jobs that a recruiter can verify.
linkedin gives them a title. the title is unverified and rented from the employer. when the employer is gone or never existed (early career, trades, career change) the candidate is invisible.
the receipt fixes that. one sentence about the work. the artifact. a peer who signs. a customer who countersigns. portable. verifiable. owned by the worker.
appreciate you holding launches to this question. it sharpens everyone.
@thenameisarian Thank you for participating! We need to look at the whole business - not just the products we're building - so we can get the right products in front of the right people who need them.
This resonates deeply especially as someone currently launching their first app.
When I started building Ritually (an AI habit coach), I made exactly this mistake. I was so
excited about the AI plan generation feature that my early messaging was all about the
solution "AI builds your habit plan in seconds!" But nobody cared. Because I hadn't clearly
named the problem first.
The moment I changed my messaging to "Most habit apps track your streaks but never actually
teach you how to build the habit" people immediately said "yes, that's exactly my
frustration."
Same product. Completely different response. Your 33 years of experience just saved a lot
of first-time founders from making the same mistake I almost made.
To answer your question problem first, always.
The demo is just proof that the problem is solved.
@innocent_fonkoa Yes, that simple shift allowed people to see themselves in your solution! I'm glad you saw that and made the change. And congratulations on your upcoming launch - have you got a date yet?
The problem we solve: marketing AI doesn't think like a marketer.
I've spent 12+ years buying media, $100M+ in spend, and I'm in a bunch of marketer groups using every tool out there. Still haven't found one that thinks the way a marketer does. Cursor pulled that off for developers. Marketing doesn't have its version yet.
That's the gap. Your ads run 24/7 and you can't sit at your PC all day reacting to them. You need something that gets the why behind a decision, not just one that spits out copy.
On your question, I look for the problem first, always. A slick demo tells me it works. The problem tells me if anyone will pay for it. The launches I skip aren't the ugly ones, they're the ones where I can't tell who's losing sleep over this.
When the problem's fuzzy, do you dig or just move on? I go back and forth on whose job that is.
@nipuntaneja Ok, so you've identified the gap - feels like a heavy problem for Marketers. Feels like many of them are suffering in silence, resigned to the fact that there's nothing that can help them. Seems like whoever gets that product to market will have a hungry audience eating out of their hands! How close are you to solving that?
Good question - I nerd out on this stuff so I might dig in, but most Prospects are moving on - any friction and most don't stick around.
This is the right lens. A polished demo can make a product look impressive, but the problem statement is what tells people whether they should care.
The clearest products usually answer three questions fast: who is stuck, what painful workflow are they stuck in, and what changes after using the product. Features then become proof, not the headline. Especially with AI products, that distinction matters because “it uses AI” is not a problem. The problem is the costly human work or missed opportunity the AI removes.
@rahulbhavsar Yes, good points - lead with the OUTCOME! Think of it from the lens of: what's in it for THEM? What do they get from using the product/service?
Exactly. The clearer the outcome, the easier it is for a buyer to place the product in their own workflow. I think a lot of launches describe the feature first, but the stronger framing is: what pain disappears, what time is saved, or what better decision becomes possible.
@rahulbhavsar Good copy in your launch day messaging can make all the difference!
Retime
Great framing. For Retime, the problem is not "people need another calendar." It is that meeting work is split across too many places: availability in one tool, the calendar invite somewhere else, agenda in a doc, notes in another app, and follow-ups in someone's memory.
The meeting looks scheduled, but the work around it is not actually ready or closed. The problem we try to solve is making the before/during/after loop feel like one workflow instead of five handoffs. If I can explain that clearly, the features make sense; if I start with "scheduling + agendas + notes," it sounds like a checklist.
@hadifarnoud That calendar/meeting struggle is REAL! The problem you solve is well described but I challenge you to push that just a little further- What is the FEELING the user gets after using Retime?
Pull out the emotional reality that lies underneath the operational clarity you mentioned.
It's relief, unburdening, and mental energy that's freed up from something that shouldn't have drained it in the first place.
Does that make sense?
For me the problem is obvious only because I lived it first: I was on a sprint that quietly fell apart because nobody noticed the risk signals until it was too late — blocked tasks, creeping scope, no early warning. Jira told us the state of things, but not whether we were actually in trouble.
That's the one-sentence problem behind Rahnuma.io: dev teams have project management tools that show status, but not risk. So I built the forecasting layer I wished I'd had.
To answer your actual question though — I look for the problem first. A slick demo can sell me on "this is well-built," but only a clear problem statement sells me on "I need this." If I have to guess what pain it solves, I usually scroll past, even if the UI is great.
@muhammad_azhar21 Very interesting product build - what's the OUTCOME your product gives your Prospects? You felt the pain yourself but do others feel this, too? Does your product save time, money, or? Remember to lead with that in your messaging copy.
problem first every time. demo without the problem reads as a personality trait. demo with the problem reads as a fix.
specific tell: i scroll to the headline. if it tells me what's broken in 6 words or less i keep reading. if it tells me what's cool in 6 words or less i leave.
the products that converted me last year all named the bleeding before showing the bandage. the ones i forgot were the opposite.
@thenameisarian YES - show the bleeding before the bandaid - brilliant! Thanks for sharing that :)