Our Framework for Finding High-Value Problems
How we make sense of what’s broken — and worth fixing.
How many times have you muttered something out loud like
“Why hasn’t someone fixed this yet?”
That’s where we started. There’s no shortage of clever ideas, hacks, half-built prototypes. What’s missing? Real focus on the problem. That messy, layered, often inconvenient truth sitting quietly at the root of it all.
problemleads was born from this conviction. We’re not here to pitch startups. We’re here to make sense of what's broken *and* worth fixing.
Our reports don’t throw spaghetti at the wall; we dissect the wall, measure the friction, and tell you whether spaghetti has any business being near it in the first place.
This article gives you a peek behind the scenes; how we break down a problem, why we look at the things we do, and how our approach helps founders, analysts, innovation leads, and investors stop guessing and start digging into the stuff that matters.
Ideas Are Cheap. Problems Aren’t.
If you ask people what tool they wish existed, you’ll get a lot of noise. It's not how real breakthroughs start.
Real opportunity hides in broken processes, missing links, system contradictions, regulatory bottlenecks. Things that frustrate entire departments quietly but persistently. The kind of problem nobody wants to touch; that’s the one worth exploring.
And when you look hard enough, the solution starts to whisper back. But only if the problem has been properly framed. That’s what we do.
How We Break It Down
Problem Context
We start with clarity. The problem needs a sharp name, a compelling question, and a short statement that instantly clicks. What is this issue about? Where does it show up, which industry, which vertical? If you can't explain that in a few lines, you’re not ready to analyze it.
That clarity acts as your anchor. It makes the rest of the work structured, readable, and *most importantly* transferable across teams and departments. You’re not pitching yet. You’re understanding the terrain.
Who’s Affected?
No problem floats in a vacuum. Every one of them touches someone: A team, a role, a process. So we define who’s struggling: Is it a public agency? A procurement team inside a logistics-heavy business? A legal team inside a fast-scaling tech firm?
Knowing who faces the heat tells you what kinds of solutions will or won’t get buy-in. It also nudges you to ask better questions: Will they pay for this? Will they need to ask legal? Will this replace a spreadsheet or a whole department?
What’s the Real Pain?
Here’s where we slow down. What’s the actual tension at the core of this? What causes it? What kind of impact is it having? Can we measure it, or at least describe it in a way that someone nods and goes “yep, that’s the exact headache we have”?
And this next bit matters: Where’s the dilemma? Good problems are never just bad luck; they’re usually a tradeoff. Cut cost, lose quality. Save time, lose oversight. Add AI, lose trust. When a company has to juggle conflicting priorities, that’s a fertile space.
We also look for the hidden challenge, as in the part nobody talks about because it’s boring or uncomfortable. Those are gold. And finally, we sketch the glimmer: what could the world look like if this were solved?
Market Potential
Now we look outward. What’s the scale of this thing?
We break it down like this: what’s the total market where this problem occurs? What’s realistically reachable based on who this solution would serve? And how much of that market could a team actually win?
We also scan trends and growth but not with rose-colored glasses. We check whether interest is accelerating, if money is moving, if something structural is shifting that makes now the right time to act. Timing matters more than you think.
The Playing Field
This part tells you how crowded things are and where there’s space to breathe.
What’s already being used? Who’s already trying to solve this - and how good are they? Is this a sleepy market ripe for a shake-up, or a knife fight where five billion-dollar firms are already going at it?
We use a version of Porter’s Five Forces to structure this: Are new players going to jump in fast? Are suppliers in control? Do customers hold the power? Are substitutes looming? Is the competition brutal or benign?
And most importantly, is there a part of the market where no one’s looking, a corner where needs are unmet and incentives align? That’s your window.
Monetization
A great problem still needs a path to revenue. We don’t assume that’s obvious.
We look at what kind of business models could realistically be built. What might customers pay for? How would the money flow? Would it be a license? A subscription? Hardware with a service layer?
And we ask: Is this a vitamin or a painkiller? Because only one of those sells in a downturn.
What’s in the Way?
Finally, we map the blockers. Regulations, compliance, safety. Some ideas look great until you realize they need three years of certification. Or a government sign-off. Or are flat-out illegal in your main market.
We rank the regulatory friction and explore where approvals are needed, how hard they are to get, and what might delay you. We also list execution barriers - not to scare anyone off, but to flag what needs tackling early.
Why This Matters for Innovation Leaders
If you’re an innovation lead, your inbox is already full of shiny decks. What you need is clarity. What’s worth presenting to leadership next quarter? What problem fits your internal strengths? What aligns with your timeline and values?
Structured problem analysis gives you that clarity. It removes bias. It makes it easier to justify budget - because the risk is visible, the opportunity is quantified, and the context is grounded.
And if you're a founder or investor, this saves you months of wasted cycles. You skip the fluff and focus on the friction that’s ready to be solved.
This Isn’t Magic. It’s Just Honest Work.
We’re not claiming to see the future. But we’ve built a damn good compass.
Our goal is simple: to surface problems that are timely, valuable, and realistically solvable. We write reports that you can pass to your team, your board, or your founders. No hype. No sugarcoating. Just relevance.
If you're tired of guessing and chasing half-baked trends, start here. Start with the right question. We’ll help you figure out the rest.
Let’s build.