Problem definition before solution proposition. Aspirin provision before vitamin supplements. Some wonderful pointers here, Petar. Featuring this piece in the community reads section in our next piece.✨
The aspirin versus vitamin distinction is the real structural point.
Markets tend to treat product quality as the main driver of success, but in practice the binding constraint is usually urgency. A solution tied to a measurable cost—lost revenue, compliance risk, operational delay—enters the budget conversation immediately, while incremental improvements often remain discretionary.
What makes this interesting is that the same dynamic appears in investing. Businesses solving urgent operational problems tend to show far stronger pricing power and customer retention than those delivering marginal efficiency gains.
That’s why the intensity of the problem usually matters more than the elegance of the solution.
Well said! I work with founders all the time to focus on the problem they are solving and not the features they are creating. To your point people want to solve a pain point. I also think point #4 is key. Drive an outcome and make your customers are aware of those outcomes along the way. The outcomes lead to happier customers which leads to more revenue for you.
The other thing I love about tangible outcomes is they become the case studies and examples for your next sell. They help you build the story and case for the next customer to use you. Don’t forget to share successes you have had with other customers and on your socials. It’s a great way to show what you have done.
This aspirin vs vitamin framing is such a clean way to think about product market fit. I especially liked the idea that urgency, not just usefulness, drives adoption. That lens alone changes how I evaluate startup ideas.
Exactly Adrian! The aspirin vs vitamin framework is meant to illustrate the idea and spark thinking outside the box. It’s a lens to help uncover where real value and urgency lie
Yep. With AI coding agents it’s now easier than ever to add features that don’t really move the needle—figuring out what to build is becoming more important than figuring out how to build something (unless you’re a rocket scientist :))
Problem definition before solution proposition. Aspirin provision before vitamin supplements. Some wonderful pointers here, Petar. Featuring this piece in the community reads section in our next piece.✨
“Problem first, solution second” is at the heart of building products people pay for. Thank you!
Obsession about markets, buyers, users pain - this is the way
Exactly!
Thank you for the reminder, the "customers buy results, not gadgets" line is the thing I keep relearning.
Exactly Jenny! It’s a lesson repeated in every successful startup
I love the analogy here. Aspirin versus vitamin, genius.
Thanks, Joel! Glad the analogy resonated 💊
The market usually rewards the product that fixes a real problem today.
Spot on. The market responds to real, urgent pains, not features alone
The aspirin versus vitamin distinction is the real structural point.
Markets tend to treat product quality as the main driver of success, but in practice the binding constraint is usually urgency. A solution tied to a measurable cost—lost revenue, compliance risk, operational delay—enters the budget conversation immediately, while incremental improvements often remain discretionary.
What makes this interesting is that the same dynamic appears in investing. Businesses solving urgent operational problems tend to show far stronger pricing power and customer retention than those delivering marginal efficiency gains.
That’s why the intensity of the problem usually matters more than the elegance of the solution.
Urgency drives the conversation more than elegance. Thank you for joining the conversation!
Right. Elegance is appreciated, but urgency gets funded. When the cost of the problem is obvious, adoption tends to follow quickly.
Markets usually reward the same dynamic.
The “aspirin vs vitamin” framing is useful, but AI products make this tricky.
A lot of tools start as vitamins (nice productivity boosts) and only become aspirin once they plug into a real workflow or system of record.
That shift from “tool” → “embedded in the workflow” is usually where willingness to pay actually shows up.
Absolutely Om. That transformation from vitamin to aspirin is where willingness to pay becomes visible
Well said! I work with founders all the time to focus on the problem they are solving and not the features they are creating. To your point people want to solve a pain point. I also think point #4 is key. Drive an outcome and make your customers are aware of those outcomes along the way. The outcomes lead to happier customers which leads to more revenue for you.
Great stuff Petar, thanks for sharing!
Driving tangible outcomes creates happier customers and measurable business value
The other thing I love about tangible outcomes is they become the case studies and examples for your next sell. They help you build the story and case for the next customer to use you. Don’t forget to share successes you have had with other customers and on your socials. It’s a great way to show what you have done.
The aspirin framing is so clean and I love that you named it rather than just describing it, because you're right that named problems travel.
Thanks Melanie! Naming the problem is half the battle. It spreads through organizations and drives adoption
This aspirin vs vitamin framing is such a clean way to think about product market fit. I especially liked the idea that urgency, not just usefulness, drives adoption. That lens alone changes how I evaluate startup ideas.
Thanks Shweta! Urgency really is a hidden multiplier in adoption
Very interesting analogy. It resonates a lot with my own experience. Focusing is often a challenge for me.
Yet, the funny thing is that Aspirin is helping with a symptom, not the root cause; what does that say about a SaaS business? 😀
Exactly Adrian! The aspirin vs vitamin framework is meant to illustrate the idea and spark thinking outside the box. It’s a lens to help uncover where real value and urgency lie
Very helpful!
Thanks Natasha!
Still trying to figure out which pain my field of study helps people with…
Nikki, that’s a common challenge! 🔍
I’m not surprised!
Some great advice - good reminder to keep myself in check with the features I add 💯
Thanks Jonas. Glad it resonated!
Yep. With AI coding agents it’s now easier than ever to add features that don’t really move the needle—figuring out what to build is becoming more important than figuring out how to build something (unless you’re a rocket scientist :))
Spot on observation! AI tools accelerate execution, but clarity on the problem is everything 🚀