Know about tarpit ideas? Watch out for tarpit problems!
Does your problem statement look like this red flag?
Tarpit ideas are ideas for products that many founders try without success
However, I’ve found problems that multiple startups fail to solve
I call these tarpit problems
Regardless of the solution, there is no startup to be made around it
Here are 5 red flags of problems
And how to fix them
What are tarpit problems?
First, you should understand tarpit ideas. They are often solution-based.
Tarpit ideas: Lots of people try this startup idea. They don’t succeed in doing it. Don’t pivot out of it quickly enough and kill themselves, like a dinosaur getting stuck in a tarpit.
However, in my mentoring practice, I sometimes see pre-solution startups. They merely have a problem. And some of them are impossible to solve.
Tarpit problem: A problem that attracts many founders, but never results in a profitable startup.
6 Examples of tarpit problems
👥 Problem without an owner
Characteristics
The problem description describes an aspect of the world you could see as negative
However, it’s unclear who owns or cares about this problem that they will pay money to solve it
Example problems
“Voter turnout among 18-25 year olds is the lowest among all age groups”
Who cares so much that they pay money?
“There is too much plastic in the sea”
Ocean CleanUp is a non-profit. It’s hard to monetise on valueless wastestreams.
How to fix the problem without an owner
Find the owner: Who cares about this?
In the voter turnout example, the startup found someone in the municipality who was responsible for voter turnout. He was interested in doing a pilot.
🚫 The non-problem
Characteristics
The founder did some interviews and points at a step in the customer’s workflow as a problem
However, the customer doesn't see it as a problem
Example problem
“The search process for new academic papers is messy and chaotic”
Perhaps that’s the essence of such a search process
“After a workout, I need to unwind”
Perhaps I like the unwinding aspect
How to fix the non-problem
Scrutinise your data: do you have evidence that people feel things are hair-on-fire problems?
Find the problem with high urgency
☂️ The umbrella problem
Characteristics
The problem statement is very, very broad
Most people think intuitively there is something problematic about it
The problem can be broken down into smaller sub-problems
Example problems
“Climate change”
“Polarisation”
How to fix
Break down the problem into subproblems
Pick one subproblem
🧠 The reasoned problem
Characteristics
Made up by the founder
Usually comes in a future, imagined story/scenario
Many things need to happen before this thing becomes an issue
Example
“When purchasing hyperloop tickets, people are unsure about their carbon offset”
There are no hyperloops in operation accessible to the public.
How to fix the reasoned problem?
This problem is almost impossible to improve.
Try to find real problems instead of imagining stuff.
Your reasoned problem might act as a search scope
😴 The lazy customer problem
Characteristics
Customers claim they are postponing starting with a task or goal because
There’s too much information
I don’t know where to start
I want to do it right
While there is a lot of information available on the internet
Example problem statements
“I want to work out more, but don’t know where to start”
“People don’t know where to start when trying to learn a programming language”
“There are too many eco labels on food packaging”
How to fix the problem
Ask your (potential) customer if they have done a Google Search or LLM prompt.
If they haven’t done this, how urgent is this thing, really?
Ask them why they didn’t Google it?
Ignore lazy customers. Focus on hair-on-fire urgency
😴 The non-startup problem
Characteristics
Societal problems that are impossible to solve via a value proposition that scales
These problems can be solved, but not for profit
Sometimes, it’s just a task that is typical for the governmental
Example problem statements
“Homelessness”
“Income inequality”
“Reading in low-income families is at an all-time low”
How to fix the problem
Not everything needs to be a startup
Ask yourself if you want to do a startup, charity or non-profit
If you want to be a startup, find something that you can earn money on. Many societal issues are hard to monetise.