Part 1: Problem discovery, market sizing and Porter's Five Forces

Module 3 · Sat 25 Jul

Problem discovery means finding the problem worth solving before you build. Check two things: volume (how many people have it) and depth of pain (how badly it hurts). Discovery uncovers hidden pain; it doesn't invent it. Good ideas need both real user pain and a viable market.

• Primary research: interviews, surveys, usability tests, observation. Secondary research: reports, studies, reviews, public data. Strongest when both point the same way.
• Class example - Zomato veg-only ordering: surveys showed strong preference, veg orders were up 20% in two years, and demand spiked in festivals. User data + trend data = good evidence.
• TAM (whole market), SAM (what you can serve), SOM (what you can win soon). Class example: a pizza place in HSR, Bengaluru - India pizza market → Bengaluru/HSR → realistic one-year share.

Porter's Five Forces tells you if a market is structurally attractive: new entrants, substitutes, buyer power, supplier power, rivalry. Class examples: IRCTC, Urban Company, EdTech. It's a sanity check, not a yes/no machine.

Competitive analysis compares direct rivals and substitutes; benchmarking turns that into decisions (features, price, performance, positioning). The class case - Uber entering two-wheeler EV rides in India - used SWOT, sizing, Five Forces and kill criteria. Research lowers risk; it never removes it. Test cheaply with prototypes or painted-door tests.