You can save yourself a semester in five days. Not by building — by talking. Here's a script you can run this week.
The five-day plan
- Day 1: Write the problem in one sentence. If you can't, that's the finding.
- Day 2: List ten people who have that problem. Real names.
- Day 3-4: Talk to five of them. Ask what they do now and what it costs.
- Day 5: Look for the pattern. Did anyone ask to pay you to fix it?
The only questions that matter
Don't pitch. Investigate:
- "Tell me about the last time this happened."
- "What did you do about it?"
- "What did that cost you — money, time, stress?"
If people lean in, complain in detail, and ask when they can have it — you have something. If they're polite and vague, you've saved five months.
Building is the most expensive way to ask a question you could have just asked.