The PRISM Model: Determining if a Problem Deserves Solving

35% of startups fail because there’s no market need.

Imagine that for a second: You create an idea. You get some people to back it, whether friends or investors. You slave over developing the product or service, even getting your first customer through referrals. You create the brand’s story and go to market. Then…

Crickets. 

And everyone you talk to says some variation of, “Not interested.” 

That would suck, right? Ask anyone from the 35% of startups that failed because of it. They’ll agree. 

90% of startups fail, and one-third of those are because they chose the wrong problem to solve (or didn’t choose one in the first place). 

And here’s the thing: this reason for failure doesn’t need to exist.

It's almost entirely avoidable. 

In fact, finding the right problem can explode your business (in a good way).

In an article with HBR titled, The Difference Between a First Mover and a Category Creator, the Category Pirates cite SAP’s CEO (who’s paraphrasing a statistic from a Category Pirates book): “Companies that create a new category typically capture 76% of the total category market capitalization.” 

Solving a deserving problem gives you an opportunity to create that category. It gives you a chance at owning the 76%, instead of fighting over the remaining 24%. 

With some research and planning, you can determine if a problem is worth solving. And that’s precisely what this article will help you do. 

PRISM: The Makings of a Deserving Problem

My goal for this article is to give you a framework you can use to determine if your idea (or current business) has legs purely based on the problem you aim to solve. 

Take note of the bold line. We’re focused on the problem. Not your solution. 

There are two sides to this. 

On one side, some companies will find a problem that’s already proven and create a solution they believe can provide more value. 

These companies often aim at a more targeted audience to bring more specific attention to the problem. 

Others will seek the Blue Ocean. They'll combine variables and find an untapped problem. And in doing so, they often create new categories. 

Both are great tactics, but each carries risks and rewards. 

Using the PRISM Model, you can reduce some of these risks and set your business up for success. 

“Don't try to convince people you have a better solution than your competitors. Convince them that you picked a better problem to solve.”  - Dharmesh Shah, Founder and CTO at HubSpot

Why Follow the Model?

In the army, my soldiers sometimes brought me a problem they thought was critical, but there was often a simple solution. 

We wouldn't need to change anything but a minor detail in our plan, and we’d still be successful. 

Working with startups, I realized this wasn't unique to the army. 

Some companies will blow up a problem, making it sound much larger and more painful to the prospect. But if the prospect realizes there was a much easier solution that’s often more cost-effective, they’ll get bitter.

This is a challenge of demand creation. You can create a problem in the prospect's mind. You can even make the prospect more aware of a problem they already have. But if the problem isn't real and really painful, you can't sustain the approach as a long-term strategy. 

Building and growing a business becomes significantly more manageable when you find a deserving problem. We’re talking about cutting down a tree with a steak knife vs. a chainsaw. 

With a clear problem that’s incredibly painful, your solution almost markets itself. You can focus more on promoting your solution rather than convincing people they even need to consider your product or service. 

Oppositely, if your problem isn’t clear or excruciating, you’re going to put in a lot of effort. Your target audience becomes hazy. Your messaging weakens. Ultimately, you lose any competitive advantage you could have. 

Ensuring you have a clear problem is critical to building your business. 

What does PRISM stand for?

PRISM is an acronym that stands for Painful, Recurring, Impactful, Solveable, and Marketable. 

This is the recipe for finding a deserving problem. 

If a problem scores high in all five areas, it deserves a solution on which you could easily build a business. How deserving is deserving enough? That’s your call. If you want a commoditized business, the problem can score much lower. If you’re looking for something with a much higher ticket, it should score as high as possible. 

As you’re determining the score, you need to consider a few things. 

1. Nothing is Black and White

Everything is on a spectrum. 

A problem can be extremely painful, and people will pay a lot to have it solved. A problem can also be less painful but occur daily, producing the same result. It’s like ancient water torture, wearing down your patience, one drop at a time. 

Something could score lower on marketability because it has a lot of restrictions around the industry. However, it's still worth addressing because the impact of solving this problem is so high.

Very few things in life are black and white. I encourage you to take the spectrum perspective. And with the PRISM model, you need to. 

2. People Are More Familiar with Symptoms than Problems 

While looking to solve a problem, it’s crucial to understand that most people only see the symptoms they face. They know their joints hurt, but they don't necessarily attribute it to the inflammation caused by their diet. 

This makes it essential for you, as the expert, to understand the ins and outs of the problem. You can’t just find a valuable problem and offer a solution because you may also create other unnecessary issues. And unsurprisingly, customers aren't going to be thrilled with that. 

Do not go into a space just because there’s money there. Find a co-founder or gain some knowledge so you can actually help people with their problems. 

3. Features are Not Enough

Finding a problem that deserves solving is great on its own, but it brings challenges. The first mover has the chance to cement themselves in the mind of the customer. But the first mover is also breaking trail for others to come behind them much faster. 

Anyone can replicate what you’ve built for a solution. And while this article isn’t about crafting your solution, it stresses the importance of knowing the problem inside and out. 

Others can copy features, but they can’t replicate your knowledge and wisdom around the problem. If you intensely understand the problem, you decrease the chances of copycat companies being able to keep up.  

The PRISM Model

With all that setup, let’s get into the model itself. 

1. Is It Painful?

“Pain is weakness leaving the body. And the basis for a business.” - me

Every business should start because you can provide a solution for a very specific problem. Many companies start primarily for the sake of making money, but they’ll likely realize this isn’t enough to sustain and grow that business. 

So we want to start with a problem. But why is there a problem in the first place? 

Because it causes pain. 

And people will move away from pain before moving towards gain 9 out of 10 times. 

Pain can be an actual physical or emotional frustration, or it can be the pulling of focus. If something is always on someone’s mind, distracting them, the problem becomes quite painful, even if only in their head. 

Not every problem will be a gut-punching, bone-crushing, lost-love kind of problem. But it will be a thorn in their side, at least. 

Vitamins vs. Pain Killers: Seeking the “Hair on Fire” Problem

The standard comparison of pain is between a vitamin and a pain killer. One can stop you from feeling pain over the long run, and one helps you immediately. 

A sick person has only one thing in mind: getting healthy. 

A healthy person has lots on their mind because they have options. 

So, if we want to find the most valuable problem to solve, one that someone is entirely focused on seems best. 

For example, a vitamin could be a social media tool like Buffer or Hootsuite. They’re still successful businesses but don’t resolve critical pain. 

Compared to payroll software like Gusto or ADP, which is a constant struggle for businesses. 

But even when we have pain, different medication levels may be required—acetaminophen vs. oxycodone. If we can solve it quickly with something over the counter, we should. But if we need handfuls of acetaminophen, we're only creating other issues. #sorrykidneys 

So the goal is to find the hair on fire problem. This is one that requires an immediate resolution, where the individual is in such pain they want to buy without question. 

For some, that's an opportunity to sell snake oil. But for us morally sound business leaders, it’s an opportunity to build a much-needed product or service. 

Pain Before Agitation

Sometimes overlooked, the problem should be painful before someone reads your marketing. 

This isn't always possible, but the best business problems start that way. 

You can drive awareness of their pain, but you should never create it. That’s like a firefighter who moonlights as an arsonist. 

The issue with agitating the problem before it's painful is like pouring salt on a bruise instead of an open wound. Salt can help make someone aware of the pain, but they need an actual problem first. 

Your marketing becomes far more valuable and easier to engage your audience when they come to you already in pain. 

Variables of Pain

Some variables play into every problem. They're broken into the following categories:

• Effort: How much work is required to get someone out of pain? The more effort they need, the more painful the problem feels. 

• Sacrifice: What will they need to give up to escape the pain? People want to maintain the status quo, and changing habits is less than desirable. 

• Urgency: Hair on fire status. How long do we have before the problem is out of control?

For all three, the more, the better. Not for the individual, obviously, but for our business. 

For example, documenting all the processes in your company can be a huge undertaking, requiring lots of effort. It also means you must sacrifice time and focus on other revenue-producing activities to make it happen. For many, this isn’t an urgent task unless the company is looking to be sold or something to that effect. 

These variables can be useful tools when creating your offer. Knowing what effort someone puts in means you can develop a solution that mitigates the effort they need. 

While effort, sacrifice, and urgency can help the messaging around your offering, it’s important to keep viewing these variables as separate from your solution. 

How do you know how painful it is? 

The easiest way to learn how painful the problem can be is through feedback from prospects. Survey people within the target market on how they feel about the problem on a scale of 1-10, like doctors' happy-to-angry face scale. 

Collect as much feedback as you can during this process. 

When talking to prospects and thinking through the problem, you should also check for whether: 

• Potential customers seek to switch solutions or find alternatives (assuming a solution exists).

• They’re frequently and passionately venting to others, often on social media.

• Customers are willing to pay for a solution.

• Just solving the problem provides a clear value proposition.

These are great guide posts to know that you’re on track with a problem that deserves solving. 

2. Is It Recurring?

“You can take pretty much any sentence in this book and if you read it enough times, you will probably end up committing a homicide.”  - Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink

When a problem is extremely recurring, people want it resolved, even if it's not the most painful thing. 

Some problems are just an annoyance. But when you're faced with them day after day, it can be pretty frustrating. 

Think of that fly buzzing around your head while you try to work. At first, it’s a nuisance. But at some point, you’d be willing to hire a SWAT team to take it out. 

This is the water torture discussed earlier. The frequency makes the problem feel much more significant, even before you agitate it.

While everything is on a spectrum, pain and recurrence go hand in hand. If you can find a problem high on both, you're on track for a problem deserving of a massive payout. 

But even if one dips to the low end, you can still have a problem worth solving if the other is high on the scale. 

The Most Recurring of Problems

You can get very rich by selling what people won't stop buying. 

The more recurring a problem, the more valuable the solution can be. But how recurring is recurring enough? 

You can solve a one-and-done problem. But with that, you're capping your revenue with your current total addressable market (TAM). 

For example, if your TAM is one million consumers, you can, in a perfect world, sell one million products. People may buy a newer model at some point, but these gaps are large and unpredictable. 

With a recurring problem, you gain leverage by multiplying your TAM. A monthly recurring problem now means up to 12 million sales. 

With this in mind, you can now focus on a problem with a greater chance of providing continued growth for your business. 

One-off problems can charge more for a solution, but recurring problems can earn that same total over time and provide predictability for your business’s revenue. 

Persistent vs. Pulsing

Some problems are continuous. Others fade and sometimes return at infrequent variables. It’s a question of whether they’re chronic or acute.

While both can lead to profitable problems, knowing which is important.

Persistent problems are things like running payroll or conducting performance reviews. They're scheduled, with times often dictated to us. 

Pulsing problems are things like hiring new staff or launching a new product. They can be frustrating and challenging problems, but they're only constant for some businesses. After showing up, they’re often followed by a period of dormancy, where no one even thinks about the problem.

For a problem to be persistent, you could place it on the calendar and expect it to happen. If it’s pulsing, you’d be guessing, or other variables would determine it you’d need to track. 

We care because of the predictability. This isn't to say a pulsing problem can't be valuable; it just becomes harder to determine your potential growth rates. 

It becomes much harder to sell if you can’t determine how frequently a problem arises. Insurance sales get around this by addressing a problem that might happen. But it’ll be impossible to sell a solution that “might potentially maybe” be a problem in the future, unless you’re solving for the unpredictability.

Estimating Frequency

As a subject matter expert, you should have a good idea of how frequently the problem surfaces. 

Some other ways you can review include: 

• Identify related products or services people purchase when feeling the problem that could be trackable. 

• Study trends for seasonality to get an annual picture of the problem. 

• Find data and logs you can review, like search terms that gain popularity during specific periods. 

What’s the threshold?

Ultimately, the threshold for whether a problem is recurring enough depends on how painful it is. 

You want a problem that’s frequent enough the prospect is ever-aware it’s there. When someone mentions the problem, they empathetically relate to the person who brought it up. 

At a minimum, I’d recommend it’s at least a weekly problem so it’s easier to build a business. However, problems could surface longer. 

3. Is It Impactful?

“Every action we take impacts the lives of others around us.”  - Arthur Carmazzi

A problem’s impact can be tough to measure because it can mean different things to different people. This makes it incredibly important for you to understand your target audience. 

We want to examine the areas and subsequent issues attached to this primary problem. 

This requires an understanding of the industry, at least on some level. It's one of the reasons the Y Combinator recommends founders have a history in the space. If you don’t understand everything AROUND the problem you’re solving, you’re potentially setting your company up for other issues. 

A Problem’s Reach

When you have an issue with your CRM, it can cause ripples across your entire business. Your marketing team will send nurturing sequences to the wrong people. Your sales team will need help with prospect management in the pipeline. It can be chaotic. 

An issue with SEO can stop your site from being seen, impacting your top-line revenue. 

When a problem reaches multiple areas of a business, it needs to be resolved much quicker. The more people this problem touches, the more impactful it is. 

You also need to consider whether it's a primary or secondary impact. The SEO example directly impacts awareness metrics around your site, but a lack of conversations is a secondary impact because of the steps in between (click a CTA, engage a landing page, convert on an offer, schedule a meeting, etc). 

A great way to map this out is with branches pointing to the subsequent areas of impact. The size of each branch should dictate how impacted each area is. Outline what metrics are required at each step so they’re tracked accordingly.

Understanding Consequences

Consequences are neither good nor bad. Like the weather, they simply are. 

Are there significant ramifications to NOT solving this problem? To answer this question, you need to prepare to outline a worst-case scenario. 

For example, if Sales can’t quickly connect with leads, they’ll book fewer calls. Their pipelines will dry up, and that lack of pipeline will hurt their commissions. They’ll complain about Marketing being unable to deliver more and higher quality leads, which will frustrate marketing more, making them not want to help Sales. When Sales realizes they’re not getting more leads, it’ll cause them to find other jobs, leaving you with no sales team and an angry marketing team, causing your revenue to plummet, forcing you to shut down the company and move into your parent’s basement.

This one might sound ridiculous, but it’s not improbable. You can easily see the impacts of one problem with Sales being unable to connect with leads quickly. 

Alternatively, what are the benefits of solving it in other business areas? 

If Sales can connect with leads quickly, they’ll close much faster. That’ll lead to more customers (ka-ching) and testimonials, helping Marketing provide proof in their content and promoting the entire customer acquisition cycle. 

Essentially, it’s the best-case scenario. 

Going through these exercises can feel basic, but if you actually go through the exercise with an audience you truly know (pains, goals, needs, etc.), you’ll get a better idea of how impactful this problem could be for your customer. Also, you’ll uncover a lot of opportunities for use in your messaging. 

To fully grasp the consequences, interview potential customers and discuss what they’re seeing from their perspective. You can also review case studies to uncover overlooked issues.

What’s at stake? And why is it ‘reputation?’

While many things are at stake for the business, they all fall back to status on some level. 

If a business loses capital, the market value drops, stakeholders are grumpy, and finances can’t be reallocated around the company for growth. The CEO takes a blow to their personal status, and the company does as well. 

At the forefront, we see a loss of capital as the actual issue. But everything driving decisions stems from that need to increase or maintain status. 

The leader that solves a problem elevates their status. The CMO who brings in an agency that makes them look good gets the credit for bringing them in. The CTO who adopts new tech that streamlines efforts is seen as forward-thinking and gets a bump in status. 

This ties into the Jobs To Be Done framework. The social job people have can’t be ignored when studying whether a problem is deserving. 

When selecting the problem for your business to solve, this is why it’s so important to understand who is the decision-maker or champion in the companies you’re targeting. 

Understand how their status is impacted by not solving the problem. The more status-lowering an unsolved problem is, the more deserving of a problem.

What’s the problem worth? 

The most significant benefit of identifying the impact of a problem is that you can round out how much the problem is actually worth to solve. We’ll get into that more in the marketable section, but for now, let’s see how it can be tied to sales. 

Imagine stepping into a conversation where you intimately know the problem, and you can get the prospect to see it the same way. You discuss the desired outcome for that problem and what it means. You now both agree on the problem and outcome. 

This allows you to ask, “So this problem costs you $X for your business every month?”

X can be thousands—even millions—and being able to point that out in an early conversation demonstrates how impactful that problem is to their business. #shortenthesalescycle

You can then take the inverse, “So solving this problem could save you $X every month?” 

That statement becomes quite powerful in your sales, but more importantly, it lets you know the level of impact this problem has on their business from a financial standpoint.

Costs don’t always need to be financial but could be secondary impacts, like wasted time, missed opportunities, decreased efficiency, and team/employee happiness. 

Deserving problems are impactful. 

Is the future worth it?

A final piece to consider within the impact of the problem is whether a future without the problem is worth solving. 

Sometimes, even if the problem is extremely painful and recurring, humans don’t always operate in ways that make sense. Thinks like the comfortability bias and sunk cost cause people to want to remain where they are, even if they don’t notice they’re doing it. 

The problem needs to be dire enough that people are interested in moving forward. And while this is easier done through your marketing, if you don’t have to battle it in the first place, it’ll be better for your business.

4. Is It Solvable?

“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” - Albert Einstein

For a problem to be deserving, there has to be a potential solution. We’re not going to cover HOW to solve the problem but rather if the problem can actually be solved. 

Like with the other elements of PRISM, this isn’t black and white either. Nearly every problem CAN be solved to some degree. Companies are literally trying to put a man on Mars. 

What we’re looking at is the accessibility of the solution. How much can actually be solved? 

Currently, there’s no way to flip a switch and cure cancer. However, multiple types of treatments work to varying effects.

You can’t efficiently rewrite the US tax code. What we can do is work within the code to achieve our targeted outcome.  

Problem Complexity

How complex is the problem we’re looking to solve? Obviously, the more variables, the more of a challenge, but that can also mean it’s more deserving. 

The more difficult it is to solve, the less likely other people are working on it. Let’s be honest: most humans are lazy. Now and then, you’ll get a weirdo or a glutton for punishment who dedicated ungodly amounts of time to a problem and came out with a great solution, making them rich. 

But for the most part, people will find workarounds to complex problems before facing them head-on. 

Any more than 3-5 root causes make a problem complex. This is because if the steps required to solve the problem are more than 3 or 4, people will see it as too much effort. 

Another challenging part of these problems with the PRISM model is understanding whether it’s solvable in the first place. We don’t want to go full-tilt into coming out with an MVP we can offer to test for validity because we’re not even sure it’s a problem people want solved. 

Also, if the workarounds are much more convenient, even if they don’t necessarily solve the problem, that laziness will drive people away from your solution. They’ll take the easier and often more cost-effective solution. 

So, we need to find a balance. The problem should be complex enough that solving it likely requires a third-party’s expertise for the solution, but not so complex you won’t be able to recoup your cost for developing the solution.

A simple question is, “Can this problem be solved reasonably?”

If you can honestly answer yes to that question. You might have found a winner. 

Decision-Makers and Buy In

You need to consider whether those faced with the problem have enough cash for you to deliver the results you promise. A bootstrapped startup and a Fortune 500 company could have the same problem, but if it’s expensive to resolve, only one can front the bill. 

This can dramatically limit your TAM, but since a Fortune 500 company can have different (and often more significant) problems than a startup, they may care less about solving the problem in the first place. 

Again, we’re not considering the actual solution but whether it’s feasible to create a solution for this problem that the buyer can afford. 

Assume you’ve found that perfectly complex problem, but the  

Existing Solutions: Commodity Challenges

An easy way to check if you've found a problem that can be solved is to look at the market. If other solutions exist, then we have a clear “yes” on whether it's solvable. 

However, too many “yeses” raises another issue: the problem may be commoditized. 

When too many solutions exist, it becomes a race to the bottom. Everyone begins battling on price. 

Generally, it's best to avoid these problems, but if you can find a problem nested in another, you may be able to solve multiple problems at once. 

For example, many companies don't seek a payroll provider solely for payroll. They find one that also includes worker's comp and other services. The problem isn't just that payroll is complicated; you also need five other programs tracked around payroll, and using different providers for everything is worse than dinner at the in-laws. 

If commoditization is an issue, you can also narrow your target audience around the problem. Helping plumbers solve hiring issues is much different than helping a marketing agency with the same. 

Even when only looking at plumbers, hiring looks different when it's employee number two vs. employee ten. There's a different thought process behind it, and the problem is quite different. 

The “Pie in the Sky” Solution

A danger some companies run into is offering a pie-in-the-sky solution. While this can be accidental or wishful thinking from some entrepreneurs, many bad players use this method to make a buck. 

Obviously, you’re not one of those bad players. I mean, just look at you. You wouldn’t bother to read this article if you were. 

But there’s still a chance you select a problem and believe it’s solvable, but the solution lives in the land of fairies and unicorns. 

These solutions: 

• Set unrealistic expectations that are unlikely to be met (but easy to sell) 

• Direct focus and resources towards an impractical target, wasting time and money

• Present other business risks when the client assumes the problem is on track to be solved

Your reputation will quickly suffer when the solutions fall flat. And that lack of credibility will cost you your business. 

Again, this isn’t because you poorly delivered. It’s because there’s no way to actually deliver. 

5. Is It Marketable?

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product and services fits him and sells itself.”  – Peter Drucker

To fully understand if a problem is deserving of your brand’s focus, you need to ask a final question: how marketable is the problem?

You can market anything. But we want to know how easy it is to market. 

The marketability of a solution is essential because if you can't achieve profitable customer acquisition, you will fail. And even though many other variables play into that, marketability is as vital as coffee on a Monday morning. 

Size Matters

The size of your TAM is hugely important. So what if you find an incredibly painful problem? If only one person has the problem, you're not building a successful business.

Ideally, you want to reach at least 10% of your TAM and remain profitable. This allows you to factor in your initial growth (or lack of) and consider how market share is split across the competition.

This requires you to find a market that has some heft to it. The bigger the TAM for a problem, the more likely it's a problem worth solving. Generally, however, the larger the TAM, the more likely others are already battling to solve it. 

There's always the chance you're lucky and have an untapped audience. And through category creation, there's a chance no one highlights the problem quite like you. But regardless, you need to be hyper-aware of the TAM, which means also knowing if it's a…

Grower or Shower?

Yes, I'm a child with some of these headlines, but it's kept your attention. 

Another variable to monitor is whether the market is expanding or shrinking. 

No matter how cool your grandpa thinks they are, that physical Rolodex is not making a comeback, just like fax machines, dial-up internet, and pagers. 

It should go without saying, but I want to ensure the people in the back can hear it. If the market is shrinking, the problem is either less painful or a solution has made it irrelevant. 

People wanted a Rolodex because it kept all the important contacts they made. Just like your cell phone or CRM today. 

The problem of needing contact information organized is still a problem, but the accessibility of other solutions has made it simple to solve (and for the love of God, don't try creating another personal CRM.)

In these cases, the pain associated with the problem is nonexistent because of how common the solution is.

But how can you tell if a problem is growing or shrinking? 

If a TAM is growing, you'll often find:

• Increased demand for a solution

• More advanced feature requests

• Increased competition

• New technologies enabling new solutions

• Removal of regulations that open up new opportunities

With a shrinking TAM, you'll see:

• Complaints about solutions being obsolete

• Market saturation because most needs are already met

• Stricter regulations restrict opportunities

• Core target demographics declining over time

• Adverse macroeconomic conditions reduce spending

Considering the trajectory of the market is critical. You can’t sell something that’s getting cheaper all the time. This is what killed RadioShack (among others), and it’s putting a hurt on a lot of software development and tech firms. 

Picking an Easy Target

Lastly, it needs to be easy to identify your ideal customer. And not just to identify them on paper but out in the wild. 

If you can pinpoint CMOs for tech companies, that's great. If your problem requires them to eat tuna melts on Tuesdays, you're in for a rough business. 

Because even if your messaging can call out a specific individual, you still need to get it in front of them. That can cost A LOT of money in ads and assets to attract such a particular person. 

You want the targeting to be specific to the problem but not so specific to the individual you can't find them. 

You can create this profile by addressing the demographics, psychographics, firmographics, and technographics. All four are incredibly valuable to assist with targeting individuals with the problem we want to solve.

Demographics refers to statistical data about the individual. Psychographics looks at their attitudes, goals, fears, and drives. Firmographics includes statistical data about the company they work for. And technographics consist of the technology stack they’re using. 

Everyone has done ICP exercises, so I won’t belabor the point, but including those four areas will help you target your audience. 

Once that’s complete, you can identify the triggering event that demonstrates they have the problem you're looking to solve

Here are some better examples than tuna-loving CMOs:

• A new restauranteur opening a second location

• An HR manager implementing a new HRIS system

• A manufacturing plant manager ordering new equipment

• A marketing agency taking on more clients

• A software company releasing a new version

• A hedge fund acquiring more assets

• A hospital opening a new wing

• A biotech firm licensing a new patent

• A digital media company acquiring a competitor

• A hotel chain renovating its properties

Getting specific with whom you’re helping and knowing the triggering events that show they have the problem you aim to solve makes it much easier to determine the size of your addressable market. And therefore, whether you’re onto a deserving problem. 

Putting the PRISM Model to Use

Now that you have a framework, there are a couple of last-minute notes to remember. 

A Deserving Problem Alone Solves Nothing

Understand: Finding a deserving problem does NOT guarantee success. Finding a deserving problem gives you an edge and a path toward revenue. 

Not solving a deserving problem is one of the quickest ways to fail. 

Just because you have a problem you believe is deserving does not stop the competition from beating you out or the market from not wanting your solution to it. 

Be aware of the variables required to run a business successfully. PRISM mitigates risk for your solution, but nothing is guaranteed. 

Keep Moving

A business in motion will not stay in motion. There are many other variables to consider as you run your business. Creating a solution and providing it doesn’t mean you’re set forever. Problems will shift as other technologies or cultural norms change. 

The competition can recreate your solution faster than it took you to create it. That’s the challenge of reverse engineering. To combat it, constantly find other problems and different ways to resolve them.

Also, if you’re already in business, talk to your customers. Determine what’s most painful, and tailor your solution to help them.

Educate them on the problem. Sometimes, they know they have a problem, but they’re not necessarily sure about the solution and all the other details. Paint the picture for them so they can see it.

Remember, the promise gets them in the door, the product keeps them. If you intimately know the problem you’re solving, both get much easier.

Best of luck, problem finders.