Founder Market Fit: Intellectual Curiosity and Unmet Customer Needs

A dilemma arises when you’re exploring founder-market fit: Start with a clear market need or intellectual curiosity? Practical guidance ultimately demands a clear starting point; it’s not enough to say that both criteria are important. So where do you start your exploration? For early-stage innovations, I suggest triaging issues through the lens of intellectual curiosity to ensure efficient use of your time. Then for these top needs, focus on evaluating (a) how pressing and unmet the needs are, and (b) whether they belong to an accessible niche.

Why? When you have intellectual curiosity, you’re more likely to find pressing unmet needs, which takes significant effort to find. Our innovation advisory services can help you achieve founder market fit, empowering you to create effective social innovation and impact.

Of course what you tackle needs to be a real problem. But prioritizing your exploration on large, established needs comes with a big risk: they’re noisy and fiercely competitive, often with well-resourced players dominating the field. Everyone else is looking there too. As a result, it becomes much harder to differentiate yourself. If you lack true expertise and something unique, any advantages you have can quickly evaporate; bigger competitors can simply copy you. When this happens, failure rates rise as you risk becoming a commodity. The cost of maintaining sustainable and valuable differentiation can be financially unsustainable. Example

Jawbone, a startup in the large fitness tracker space, initially gained recognition for its innovative Bluetooth headsets and later entered the wearable technology market with the Jawbone UP fitness tracker in 2011. The UP offered unique features like sleep tracking, but its differentiator was quickly eroded as larger competitors like Fitbit and tech giants such as Apple and Samsung introduced similar products with advanced capabilities. Despite raising nearly $1 billion in funding, Jawbone struggled to keep pace with the rapid advancements of its competitors. Ultimately, the company's inability to maintain a meaningful differentiator in the competitive wearables market led to its liquidation in 2017, highlighting the challenges startups face when larger players can easily replicate their innovations.

Starting with intellectual curiosity makes it easier to identify unmet needs: • Generates the grit needed for expertise and craftsmanship • Takes you on the “road less traveled” before it gets crowded • Turns you into a a maverick producing innovative ideas

This isn’t to say that you can’t ultimately tackle those big, competitive markets. In fact, some of these markets may not even have dominant players. I just recommend you not to start there. Rather, focus on what will empower you to identify and validate unmet customer needs. In fact, in noisy, established markets, intellectual curiosity, becomes even more crucial. It will take much more work to do each of the following: • thoroughly understand existing solutions, their limitations, and new research as an expert • uncover truly unmet needs by patiently talking to many people in your ideal client profile • continuously improve your solution through high-quality craftsmanship and sustainable differentiation Of course, some may stumble upon valuable needs or a magical solution by chance on their first try. But this is not something most of us can bank on. Caveat But even if you can’t rely on it, consider testing it in case you did win the lottery. • Reach out to your accessible niche • Assess how unmet these big pain points are for them • See if your initial solution reliably solves it

Be careful though. If your solution is easily replicated, the “quick fix” you found may not be a differentiator for long in a crowded market. And if you lack intellectual curiosity about the problem, your time in the space may be short-lived, leading to limited interest and innovation, which can result in a minimal return on investment.

This feeds into a second point: intellectual curiosity may drive you to less crowded and growing markets and needs. This is good news for three reasons: (1) You’re more likely to find pressing unmet needs there. By focusing on areas that genuinely interest you versus what you think everyone else thinks is important, you’re more likely to buck the crowd. Since there’s less attention on them, existing solutions are less likely to be satisfactory, making it clear there’s an unmet need. You’re more likely to discover unique angles to existing problems or segments that are lacking sufficient attention. (2) You can develop the resources needed to tackle bigger markets. For early-stage innovations, it's advantageous to be a first mover in a growing, underserved market, even if the pain point is not as obvious to most. Being a big fish in a smaller pond allows you to build the resources and expertise needed to thrive when you eventually expand into larger markets. Instead of becoming a starving anchovy in an expansive ocean—where survival is fleeting—focus on carving out your niche and establishing a strong foundation for future growth. (3) Your interest there might be part of a larger growing trend. Your attraction to these areas may indicate a broader trend of dissatisfaction with existing solutions, signaling an opportunity for innovation. This approach allows you to ride the wave of increasing demand while establishing your presence before the market becomes saturated. It’s similar to finding an undervalued stock. Example Consider the rise of plant-based meat alternatives. Companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods recognized the growing interest in sustainable, healthier food options long before it became mainstream. They entered a niche market that was poised for growth, driven by increasing environmental awareness and health concerns. By prioritizing this emerging sector, these companies were able to establish strong brand recognition and market share before larger, traditional food companies caught up. Tip If possible, take a moment to validate that your identified unmet need is part of a growing market, rather than a shrinking one. You don’t want to invest your efforts in serving a declining sector, like print newspapers, which has been experiencing a consistent drop in overall demand.

Finally, intellectual curiosity about the problem itself encourages broader perspective beyond a single solution. This mindset is what transforms you into a maverick—an independent thinker who challenges conventional norms and practices, often uncovering blind spots that others overlook and driving innovation forward. You find yourself constantly reflecting on the problem—perhaps even dreaming about it. You begin to draw connections across various interests, applying ideas from different groups you engage with, all in your quest to deeply understand the problem, its root causes, and effective solutions. Often, innovation emerges from exploring applicable solutions in adjacent or analogous fields; you simply become the first to recognize these connections. Ultimately, this journey is fueled by the grit and perseverance that intellectual curiosity cultivates.

Intellectual curiosity is not just a trait; it is a strategic asset that empowers founders to explore deeper insights into their target markets. By prioritizing this asset, entrepreneurs can uncover unique opportunities and develop innovative solutions, ultimately leading to a more sustainable and impactful business model. For more on founder-market fit, see others in this series: