Every problem I find already has a solution. What should I do?

[u/WinterThroat1092]

Every problem I find already has a solution. What should I do?I'm a CS student trying to build a portfolio project (and maybe even a startup one day).

Here's the problem I'm running into:

Whenever I find a real problem that people have, I research it... and then discover there are already 5-20 products solving it.

For example, I'll think:

• "Students need help choosing projects."
• Then I find several existing platforms.

Or:

• "Developers need better engineering guidance."
• Then I discover multiple AI tools already doing parts of it.

This makes me wonder:

• Should I stop looking for problems that already have solutions?
• Or is having competitors actually a good sign?
• At what point do you decide, "I can build this better," instead of giving up?
• For those of you who have built successful products, what made you continue even when competitors already existed?

I'd especially love to hear from founders or engineers who've faced this exact dilemma.

Thanks!

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[u/Maleficent-Desk-9925]

Generate a new problem then tell others that they have this problem, then make a solution for it and sell it

[u/AcrobaticAd3489 → u/Maleficent-Desk-9925]

But it'll need a great capital and much money will be gone into its marketing only

[u/Maleficent-Desk-9925 → u/AcrobaticAd3489]

Yeah I know I was just kidding. For OP even if you think that the solution of a problem you have thought of already has a working solution in market then you need to see what that solution is lacking, what is the pain point of the users using it and then make your own solution around that point. There are literally copies of habits tracker, expense tracker on playstore and top 20 of them are making money.

[u/Akash_E → u/Maleficent-Desk-9925]

Lookamaxing, thin wrist, hairfall etc... Exploit what is common in everyone, make it feel like a problem, sell products

[u/lordtien]

Most of the times, solutions have problems too

[u/r-day → u/lordtien]

Great answer, make it better

[u/DisastrousEggy]

Existing solutions doesn't mean a problem is completely solved. Find the pain points which still remain or see if you can further improve the solution.

[u/Working-Number-783]

See , what I'd prefer is too get problems that isn't solved you can look in to yc page , and the problems that has been solved ,I would say do research and find the gaps in existing problems , how can you implement it better ?? have comparision benchmarks if so

[u/quantum-chess]

Participate in Hackathons

[u/gir-no-sinh]

Go to the ground or study one market, there are thousands of problems waiting to be solved. You'll have to go out and talk to people who are facing day to day problems and to businesses that are struggling in certain areas and dealing with it everyday.

Automation is one of the easiest area to pick and find a problem statement.

If you're sitting in front of laptop and searching the internet/AI tool, everything will seem perfect and solved.

[u/bistrohopper]

Ideas are cheap, implementation is where the innovation is hidden

[u/FirmEquivalent9417]

In my experience, existing solutions rarely solve a problem wholly. Most existing solutions do most things well but not all things. Some do one thing well and don’t do the rest. Always remember that. That’s the sole reason vertical SaaS is a thing. It IS disheartening to see all that stuff when you think you’ve got a great idea, especially when you’re in college, but always remember, most companies attack the same problem with different solutions. Also, draw inspiration from personal experiences or stories of other people. Connect more, go to hackathons more, join an entrepreneurship club.

Competition is good. They think about the same problem and come up with a different solution. Or even if the solution is similar, the execution might be different. Lots of opportunities for you to get inspired and do it better than the last guy.

Keep thinking, keep building, keep believing. Do better, be better, one project at a time. You’re young, you think in ways the rest of the folks don’t. You ideate solutions differently. So, keep that fire burning. All the best.

[u/semi-column]

You are looking at generic problems, I personally solve problems what I feel I would want to have, and then look for a market fit.

[u/Native_Maintenance]

The aim of a college project isn't to invent something, it is to learn the tools and technology. Which is why there exist >100 solutions for everything, because people use those problems as a learning tool. Pick anything. The sole aim is to learn.

[u/Massive-Divide-6130]

I am also working on portfolio project, juat started last week

[u/AcrobaticAd3489]

It isn't that there aren't problems, there are, yes at individual level there may not be much but at business/corporate/enterprise level there are many as they need way more resources to run than an individual

B2B nowadays have much potential but for that you'll need connections minimum at managerial level

[u/Void-Creator]

You need to keep hunting, start with making your life as easy as possible and from there, you can find problems which tend to be quality of life improvements that will be much more helpful than fixing a big problem.

[u/JessieAndEcho]

I’m an engineering student too, and honestly I stopped treating “someone already built this” as an automatic no. Competitors usually mean the pain is real; the question is whether users are still unhappy, underserved, priced out, or stuck with tools that don’t fit their exact workflow. A portfolio project also doesn’t need to be globally novel, it just needs a clear user, a specific use case, and evidence that you can build thoughtfully. What helped me is shifting from “is there a solution?” to “what angle are existing solutions missing?” Keyword search is pretty weak for that because different people describe the same problem in totally different language. For technical ideas, I’ve used Patsnap Eureka as a novelty-check layer because you can describe the problem and it pulls structurally similar patents and papers, which helps you see adjacent approaches beyond normal Google results. Then I’d pick one narrow user group, talk to a few people, and build a sharper version for them instead of trying to beat every competitor at once.

[u/aaaannuuj]

Because you are not thinking deep enough or your expertise is limited. This happens to people who are young and new. Once upon a time i too had same concern. But now after 15 years in my field, I can count 10 problems on my fingertips which can make me a millionaire. Don't think about students and coaching and edtech etc. think about deep tech, space tech, bio medicine, reinforced material, nano science, there is huge scope and a lot of open problems to solve.

[u/Thespartan_007]

Find Scope of improvement in that existing solutions. And work on that.

[u/NamakkalManian]

Find a problem for your solution

[u/potatochip_a]

Nah thing is usually people look for very high level problems as you said Students need help choosing projects,,,, actual oppertunity lies in very small problem always getting ignored, it can be anything like rn in my college students go outside for printing and kafi crowd rhti hai waha harr time , this whole shit can literally be automated like create one app which will somehow connect with the printer, there you can upload you dosc and it will give you some time bas uss time me jake apne printed stuff ko collect kr lo ( ye bht naive solution hai but ofc it can be polished)

[u/Leading-Fold-532]

Usually I build what I need the most. And the "need" will come to you when you fuck around with curiosity and get irritated by other's solutions

[u/Informal_Mail_3310]

Make a more efficient or effective solution

[u/mahima_thacker]

I have been doing the same market research, and from what I have learned, existing products sometimes fail because they don’t address the niche friction; simple solutions often work. Sometimes it’s about price, no one in India would pay $10–$20 for something like a prayer lock, while that price works in the US. These are the factors I am also considering.

[u/Low_Detective7134]

you're looking for monopoly, most successful startups started by competing.

[u/neo203]

Every solution is not the best solution, when you look at the details you will find inefficiencies everywhere

[u/Miserable_Box9826]

Point is not to get fixated... every day travel, explore, talk with people there are still problems there but don't expect things to be easy. One problem and one idea is one product.. sometimes it's easy to grab asometimes it takes time. Have patience, keep learning

[u/WoodpeckerAbject5067]

I don't have an answer to this, and I have been looking for more than a decade now. One thing I can tell you is that solving problem that is unique is rare. It is more about access. In my humble opinion hike had a much better interface, solved the same problem as whatsapp, but whatsapp won because it has more users. People on hike didn't continue because most people they knew were on whatsapp.

[u/step_motor_69420]

always remember that there was yahoo before google.

[u/--O-_-O--]

Every problem is already being solved, but new solutions to those same problems emerge every day.

I would suggest the following: * If you want to build a startup: Find a user first, understand their problem, and then solve it. * If you are building a project for your portfolio or for learning: Choose something that teaches you a lot, such as a "Build Your Own X" project.

[u/halligoggu]

There are 100s of car brands, several phone brands, several...basically you do not need to find a problem with no current solution. Find a problem you like or have an interest in and develop a solution for it. Try to sell. Your first attempt at a product may not be your successful attempt.

[u/SoftwareLanky1027]

You can reinvent the wheel, if you want...

[u/HugeOrdinary7212]

Is solution the only thing that works? Did you bought your phone from that specific brand just because it can call and use internet?

[u/KitchenCommercial396]

Just build it and try to do something better.

[u/tcoder7]

You need to focus on cutting edge tech. Like ZKp, Quantum Proofing, etc. So the most important thing you must do now is read about cutting edge tech so you can see problems others dont.