The Sharp Problem
Build for old, enduring needs re-imagined with new tech so the improvement is 3-10x undeniable
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 90%
A filter for what to build that replaces the 'ship then pivot' habit with disciplined problem selection. A sharp problem is an enduring human need that is still difficult, where a 3-5x (ideally 10x) improvement or 10x cost reduction makes customers say 'take my money now.' The most successful companies (Amazon, Facebook) didn't pivot repeatedly — they picked a sharp problem from the start.
Origin
Oji Udezue's core concept, developed across his product career and their book 'Building Rocket Ships.' He references Jeff Bezos in the 1980s recognizing 'people always shop' as the archetypal sharp-problem bet.
Core principles
- 01Pivoting shouldn't be a habit you do 'drunkenly' — shortcuts exist to avoid the drunken walk
- 02Pick old needs with enduring core demand, then re-imagine them in new technological ways
- 03Profit comes from re-imagining old needs, not from novelty for its own sake
- 04Being a founder is not an exercise in your passion or brilliance; it's an exercise in finding what the market needs
- 05The problem you focus on is the single most predictive factor of your success
How to run it
- 1
Identify an enduring, old need
Start from a core human need that has persisted over time rather than a trendy idea. Old needs signal durable demand that won't evaporate.
Pro tip Watch how precient Bezos was in the 80s: 'look, people always shop, I'm going to be the guy' — pick needs that obviously outlast technology cycles.
Watch out Don't build something just because you're passionate about it; passion is not evidence of market need.
- 2
Test for sharpness
Ask: what do people still find difficult to the point that a 3-5x (or 10x) improvement, or a 10x cost reduction, would make them say 'this is so compelling, take my money now.' If the improvement isn't that dramatic, the problem isn't sharp.
Pro tip Cost-out counts too — one-tenth the cost is as compelling as ten times better.
- 3
For B2B, quadrant the problem by frequency and pain
Use the 'unicorn framework' — draw a quadrant around the problem to check whether it is highly frequent, because frequency correlates with pain and pulls demand.
Watch out High-frequency problems carry more latent pain; low-frequency ones rarely generate 'take my money' urgency.
In the wild
Oji cites watching Jeff Bezos from the 1980s as 'precient' — Bezos identified that people always shop, an enduring need, and committed to being 'the guy' who served it online.
→ An enduring-need bet became Amazon rather than a series of pivots.
Common mistakes
Treating pivoting as a strategy
Many founders 'walk around drunkenly' pivoting whenever something fails, instead of doing the upfront work to pick a sharp problem where success is more likely from the start.
Building your passion instead of the market's need
Founders and operators build things they're passionate about and brilliant at, but being a founder is 'an exercise in finding what the market needs,' not showcasing personal passion.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and product leaders deciding what to build, especially when tempted to chase novel AI ideas rather than durable demand
Not ideal for
Teams already locked into a validated product-market fit who need execution and scaling help, not problem selection
From the transcript
“What is still difficult to the point that if you improve it three to five times, maybe 10x or you take cost out of it,…”
“the way to avoid drunken startup building is pick things that are old. They their core needs and and the way you profit is when…”
“the problem you focus on is probably the most predictive of your success. Pick a sharp problem.”
“being a founder is not an exercise and even an operator in a company it's not an exercise in your passion and your brilliance it's…”
From the episode
How AI is reshaping the product role
Oji and Ezinne Udezue