Is Your Startup Stuck? How to Break Through and Move Ahead

The five key questions every startup must answer to succeed

I’m often approached by founders who have invested significant time and effort into their startup—some with an MVP, some with just a rough idea, and others with early validation that their idea has potential. Yet, despite their progress, they all have one thing in common: they’re stuck. They want to know, “How do we move forward?”

The answer, at any stage, is to align your vision and your product with the clear value proposition and a well-defined addressable market. Rarely do I meet entrepreneurs, even experienced startup veterans, who have done the foundational work to complete the following:

• Clearly define the pain they are addressing.

• Identify the person who experiences that pain and articulate it in a way that resonates with them.

• Describe precisely how their solution alleviates that pain.

• Differentiate their offering from alternatives.

• Quantify the tangible benefits their target customer will gain from the solution.

Most often, answers to these key questions are vague, and the target audience is far too broad to define an addressable market. I frequently hear statements like, “Anyone who uses a computer for work” or “Anyone in sales.” The uncertainty increases when founders are asked how their solution will alleviate the pain. Why? Because they don’t have enough real-world feedback to validate what people will actually pay for.

Every entrepreneur I meet is convinced they are the typical user of their product. But by definition, that’s almost never true. The typical user of your product has not spent the time and effort to devise a new solution; they are not an innovator, but rather someone looking for a practical fix to a recognized problem. Founders have an inherent bias—they see their solution as obvious, but what’s obvious to them is rarely obvious to their customers.

As an example, I once worked with a company that proposed an onboarding process requiring so much upfront work that it was unlikely to ever be adopted. The founder was so enamored with their own solution that they couldn’t see the friction it would create for their users. This is why early-stage startups must be methodical—not bureaucratic, but agile and goal-oriented in progressing from product concept to first product shipment.

Getting Started

To break out of the “stuck” phase, you need a structured approach. Whether you’re just starting out or already deep in development, answering these five key questions will clarify your path forward. Keep each response concise; no more than two sentences.

1. What is the pain you are addressing? What bottleneck or new opportunity do you offer? Quantify the pain, or at least grade it on a scale of 1-10 (from mild to acute) as best you can.

2. Who has that pain? Be specific. Describe an individual you could theoretically speak to today—e.g., a manager at a company with over 1,000 employees operating in at least three countries, responsible for employee onboarding and offboarding. Ignore job titles for now; we’ll refine those later.

3. How do they address that pain today? What solutions—whether devices, software, services, manual processes, or workarounds—do they use? Or do they do nothing?

4. Why will your solution be better? What makes your offering compelling enough for someone to switch?

5. Why might your solution not be as good as alternatives? An alternative can be a direct competitor, a substitute, or even “doing nothing.” Be honest about potential drawbacks.

Investing time in this exercise will surface gaps in your thinking and provide a clearer picture of what you need to validate next.

Next Step: Validation

Once you have solid answers to these questions, the next step is to validate your assumptions. The best way to do this? Talk to real people who fit your defined target audience. How you find them and what you ask will be the focus of my next article.

Call to Action

If you’re grappling with these early-stage challenges, take the time to go through this questionnaire.  It’s a simple yet powerful way to uncover blind spots, sharpen your positioning, and set yourself up for success. Need help working through it? Reach out—I’d love to help you refine your approach. Check out my one day workshop ,uniquely designed to unstick you and put you on sure footing.

#ProductMarketFit #StartupValidation #GoToMarket