Does this sound familiar? You’re a big thinker - a problem solver in fact - and your aspirations have been fueled by a steady diet of success stories that start with a good idea and a garage. No surprise, you’ve got your thinking cap on and you’re ready to disrupt the status quo. 

‍

Don’t worry, it sounds appealing to us at Hunsicker too. That pathway is full of action and adventure. Highs and lows. Glitz and glamor. But hold up - before you embark on that journey, we’d like to offer up a love note to the hidden hero known as discovery. 

‍

It might not be as sexy, but this unsung process serves as the foundation for groundbreaking solutions. And so, fellow creators, before you dive into dreaming up the next big disruption, we invite you to join us as we embark on a journey to understand the essence of the problems we aim to solve. By delving into customer needs, jobs to be done, problem size scope, influencing forces, and the sweet value of addressing these problems, we unlock a treasure trove of opportunities. 

‍

With that frame of mind, it may seem obvious, but it’s important to understand that people buy a drill because they need a hole, not because the drill itself is a marvelous innovation. Similarly, before focusing on disrupting the drill market, we better be sure we understand all the reasons why customers might need holes and what’s getting in their way to do so.

‍

This is where we find ourselves today at Hunsicker. As of June, we were excited to welcome aboard our very first Founder in Residence, Stephen Price. His arrival has heralded in the official start to our Playbook operation. And while it’s thrilling to finally embark on our first company's journey, it’s been a great reminder to our whole team that the process of discovery and the significance of problem understanding is, in fact, the key to ultimately creating lasting solutions. 

‍

But what does discovery really mean? And how do you create measurable steps out of such a nebulous concept? Hopefully we can pull back the veil a bit and break it down to 5 steps. 

‍

1. Unmasking Customer Needs

You can’t rush to solve something if you don’t understand where the problems are. Market research, meaningful conversations, and data analysis are paramount. This helps us to grasp the true pain points and desires of our target audience. By empathizing with customers and gaining insights into their challenges, we can align our solutions with precision. This is vital time to hone in on customer segments and take a walk in their shoes.

‍

2. Defining Jobs to be Done

We're not just solving problems; we're on a mission. Jobs to be done (JTBD) serve as the cornerstone for our problem-solving endeavors. They reveal the true nature of the problems at hand. JTBD offers us a powerful lens to understand customer motivations and goals, empowering us to create solutions that truly hit the mark. This is also the time where interviews with those who are struggling with these problems can shed real insight on friction points. 

‍

3. Gauging the Size of the Problem: Is it a Molehill or a Mountain?

This isn’t just about our slide rules and scales - in order to collect metrics for the magnitude of a problem, we harness the power of AI to help identify key trends from countless customer interviews and other forms of research. We assess scope, prevalence, and consequences or problems to determine what the impact of their resolution would involve, with timeframes that wouldn’t have been possible without recent advancements in tech. Big problems may seem daunting - and that’s because they most often are. So instead, we identify smaller, niche problems within those larger buckets that lead to remarkable innovations in specific domains, allowing us to zero in on more defined customer segments and create catered, specific solutions.

‍

4. Analyzing Influencing Forces

Problems don't exist in a vacuum; rather there’s typically a whole hornets' nest of compounding influences, including technological advancements, regulatory changes, economic shifts, and social trends, to name a few. We need to unravel the forces at play and gain a comprehensive view of the problem landscape. These forces can serve as barriers or hidden doors to innovation. Either way they must be accounted for to determine whether they are additive or a hindrance. 

‍

5. Calculating Value

Effective problem-solving is all about delivering value to customers. It’s necessary to toggle between the lenses of both pain relief and joy enhancement. Value arises from alleviating pain points and addressing unmet needs while adding gains and desirable outcomes. Analyzing both the benefits of removing friction by sanding down rough edges as well as adding lubricant can help quantify if the juice is worth the squeeze. Ultimately, value calculation helps us prioritize our efforts and make strategic decisions that drive meaningful impact.

‍

To some, this all might seem like much ado about nothing. To be sure, it doesn’t produce the same adrenaline high as prototype creation or the endorphin rush of acquiring your first ever customers. However, in its own right, discovery is a transformative process fueled by a deep understanding of the problems we aim to solve (and empathy for those who endure them). By embarking on this journey of exploration, we gain insights into customer needs, jobs to be done, problem size, influencing forces, and the value of addressing these problems. Armed with this knowledge, we can access a world of opportunities and empower ourselves to craft solutions that make a genuine difference. At Hunsicker, we’re learning to embrace the process, and for the best outcomes, that entails first unpacking the problems. Only then can we reveal the doorway to innovation and impact.

‍