This little piggy went to market.

If you want to start a company, don’t start with the money.

Start with a problem.

1. Is it a problem?
2. Why is the problem a problem?
3. Can people live with the problem?
4. How big of a problem is it?

Size the market.

1. Would people pay good money to have the problem solved?
2. Who are said people who would pay said good money?
3. How much would people pay?
4. Would people pay once, or repeatedly, to see the problem solved?

Size the competition.

1. Has anyone else succeeded in solving the problem?
2. How much of the market have they captured?
3. What is your barrier to entry?
4. Can you do it faster, better, cheaper?

Size your costs.

1. How much time would it take you to solve the problem once?
2. How many people would it take you to scale your solution?
3. What would it take for you to acquire users of your solution?
4. What would it take for you to maintain your market share?

Answer those questions with unflinching honesty.

Problems are your biggest asset. Run towards them. Solve them.

But, remember that it ain’t a solution until a real user says so.

So, be ruthless about cutting out one-hit wonders—solutions that don’t encourage repeated use of the solution. Be ruthless about cutting out solutions that work for one, but not for many. Be ruthless about cutting out gimmicks—solutions that are all flash, and no substance. Be ruthless about cutting out solutions that you have to dress up—solutions that take multiple slides and fancy, hand-wavy graphics in a slide deck to explain.

Above all, be absolutely, firmly, uncompromisingly ruthless about cutting out solutions that have not met the taste test of real users.

The opinion of real users is the only currency that matters.

You have to fall in love with the problem, not the solution.

Your users have to fall in love with the solution, not the problem.

That’s how this little piggy went to market.