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Fall in Love with the Problem
Not the Solution

Uri Levine
Co-founder of Waze, Serial Entrepreneur
10 Startups · 2 Unicorns
The Core

Fall in Love with the Problem

❤SOLVE IT
"The entrepreneurship journey is about value creation. The simplest way to create value is solve a problem. When you fall in love with the problem, the problem becomes your North Star."
  • Problem-first mindset increases likelihood of success
  • Solution-second approach creates compelling stories customers care about
  • North Star problem keeps you on course, reducing deviation
  • When customers care about your problem, they help you win
Find & Validate

How to Discover Your Problem

  • Start with personal frustration: Traffic jams, leaving money on the table, broken workflows
  • Speak with 100 people (or at least 20 strangers) to validate it's real
  • Listen for the pivot: When someone says "No, the real problem is...", that's signal
  • Ask: Who has this problem? If only you, see a therapist. If many, continue.
100
conversations to validate
3
dimensions of the journey
50M
Waze funding total
Oversee pivot example

Started as B2C (people comparing flight prices), realized they won't take action. Pivoted to B2B (corporates save 10% of travel budget) and found product-market fit.

The Journey

The Three Dimensions of Building a Startup

1. Roller Coaster (High Frequency)

Ups and downs happen constantly. Ben Horowitz: "I slept like a baby, woke up every two hours and cried."

2. Failure Journey (Iterate Fast)

You'll fail repeatedly. Fail fast so you have time for more attempts. Michael Jordan: "I've failed over and over, this is what made me successful."

3. Long Path (Product-Market Fit)

The longest phase is finding PMF. Once achieved, you don't change the core (Google, Waze, Uber have stayed fundamentally the same).

The PMF realization

Once you achieve product-market fit, companies stop changing. Google search, Waze navigation, WhatsApp messaging, same since day one. If you don't hit PMF, you die.

The biggest enemy

Perfect is the enemy of good enough. You don't need perfect to win the market. Start not-good-enough, iterate until good-enough.

Hiring

The 30-Day Hire Test

"Every time you hire someone, mark your calendar for 30 days and ask: knowing what I know today, would I hire this person? If the answer is no, fire them immediately."
  • The first month reveals true fit
  • Don't wait for probation to end
  • Quick correction is cheaper than 6 months of wrong hire
  • Speed of decision matters as much as the decision itself
Uri's hiring philosophyDon't hire slowly and fire fast. Make the decision faster in both directions. The 30-day mark is your canary in the coal mine.
Fundraising

The Investor Psychology Playbook

✗Take time to build your pitch deckINSTEAD →✓ Investors decide if they like YOU before you sit down. First impression is everything. Start with strongest point immediately.
✗Bring your whole team to pitchINSTEAD →✓ CEO goes alone. Investors like the CEO and the story. Distractions dilute the message. You are the headlight.
✗Focus your story on business model and market sizeINSTEAD →✓ Start with the problem. Investors are users too. If they don't feel the problem, market doesn't exist to them. Emotional engagement matters.
✗Expect investors to understand your visionINSTEAD →✓ You'll hear 100 nos for every yes. 1% conversion. Dance of 100 nos. This is not personal, it's the game. Keep going.
The fundraising formula

Most important slide: first (strongest point). Second most important: last (finish with strength). Middle: tell a story that makes investors want to be part of your journey. Talk problem → solution → you can build it.

Based on Uri Levine's episode on Lenny's Podcast. All ideas on this page are from the episode.Watch on YouTubeFollow @urilevine1 on X
GO DEEPER IN THE EPISODE
02:50 Falling in love with the problem09:01 Signs this is a big enough problem10:52 The importance of passion12:04 A pivot example13:59 Where to find startup ideas21:55 Finding product-market fit at Waze29:43 The different phases of a startup journey36:45 What investors don’t want to hear39:51 Fundraising tips48:00 How to make your presentations stronger50:30 A wild fundraising story53:44 Firing and hiring59:48 The 30-day test01:04:10 Understanding users01:12:08 Talking to the right users01:15:34 Lightning round
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