🔍 FREE TEMPLATE · ARABIC + ENGLISH
Problem statement template for startups — with an example
State the problem so precisely that someone can disagree with it. Free template with the four parts investors actually read.
What a Problem Statement is for
A problem statement names who has the problem, how badly, what they do about it today, and why those workarounds fall short. It is the first thing an investor reads and the first thing that gets skipped — usually because a vague problem is easier to write than a specific one.
صياغة المشكلة بتحدد مين عنده المشكلة، وحجمها قد إيه، وبيعمل إيه دلوقتي علشان يتعايش معاها، وليه الحلول دي مش كفاية. دي أول حاجة المستثمر بيقراها، وأول حاجة بيتم تخطيها — لإن المشكلة المبهمة أسهل في الكتابة من المحددة.
What goes in each part — with a an Egyptian e-commerce seller example
The problem
المشكلةOne sentence a stranger could repeat back. Avoid 'lack of' — describe what goes wrong, not what is absent.
Example — Around a third of cash-on-delivery orders fail, and the seller pays the shipping either way
Who has it
مين عنده المشكلةBe narrow enough to find them this week. 'SMEs' is not findable; 'Instagram sellers shipping 50–500 orders a month' is.
Example — Instagram and WhatsApp sellers shipping 50–500 orders a month
Severity and frequency
الحدة والتكرارHow much it costs them and how often it happens. A painful problem that occurs yearly is a bad wedge.
Example — Every single week, and it eats most of the margin on the failed orders
Current alternatives
البدائل الحاليةWhat they use today — including spreadsheets, WhatsApp and doing nothing — and the specific gap in each.
Example — Calling every customer before dispatch: works, but does not scale past a few dozen orders
Your angle
زاويتكWhy you can address the gap when the alternatives do not. Not your feature list — your unfair angle.
Example — We can score an order's risk before it ships, from data the seller already has
THE PART MOST PEOPLE GET WRONG
A problem nobody can disagree with is not a problem statement
If everyone nods, it is too broad to act on. 'Founders need better tools' invites agreement and no decision. 'A third of cash-on-delivery orders fail and the seller eats the shipping' invites someone to say 'actually it is closer to a fifth' — and now you are having a real conversation.
Fill it in, don't download it
A PDF you fill once is a file you lose. Here it stays with your startup, feeds the other tools, and appears on your public page as you finish it.
Questions founders ask
How long should a problem statement be?
One paragraph for the problem itself, plus the supporting parts. If it does not fit on one screen, it is describing several problems.
What if I have several problems?
Pick the one you would solve first and write that. The others belong in the Assumptions Tracker until the first one is validated.
Do investors really read this?
It is usually slide two, and it decides whether slide three gets read at all.
SEE IT DONE FOR REAL