When you’re starting a business, it’s easy to get caught up in the exciting parts, like your product, your idea, your tech, your features.
You want to show the world what you’ve built. But no one buys something just because it exists. They buy because they have a problem. A problem that frustrates them, slows them down, wastes their time, or costs them money.
If you want to build something people actually pay for, you need to understand that pain better than anyone else. Let’s walk through how to find that pain and use it to build a business people truly need.
What is a customer pain point
A customer pain point is friction.
It’s the moment someone sighs and rubs their eyes; the “ugh” when they open their laptop. The part of the day they keep putting off, such as:
- A manual task that wastes hours every week.
- A clunky process that falls apart when it’s under pressure.
- A decision they’re scared to get wrong.
- A tool that’s overpriced, confusing, or not designed for their needs.
What’s tricky is that customers almost never describe this cleanly. They don’t say, “I have a serious operational inefficiency.” More often, they say things like:
- “This is annoying.”
- “It’s just how things are.”
- “I wish this was easier.”
Your job as a founder is to hear those throwaway lines and recognise them for what they are: signals. Inside them is the information that shapes strong products.
Why pain points matter as a startup founder
Pain points aren’t just problems your customer faces. They’re an opportunity.
If someone is dealing with a painful issue, they’re already looking (even if subconsciously) for a solution. If you can show them that you understand what they’re struggling with, and you have a better way, they’ll listen. Understanding pain points helps you:
- Build a product that actually solves a real problem
- Write marketing that resonates and builds trust
- Know which features to prioritise (and which to ignore)
- Price your solution in a way that feels worth it
When you can describe a customer’s problem better than they can, they’ll assume you have the answer. That’s your first big win.
5 steps to find real customer pain points
1. Talk to real people
Before building anything, step outside of assumptions and step into the daily world of your customer.
Seek out people already living the reality your future customer faces. They might be sitting in coworking spaces, posting on LinkedIn, chatting in niche forums, or hanging out in Facebook groups.
The tool you’ll be using is conversation. Start with open questions that let people share what really bothers them:
- “What’s the most frustrating part of your day?”
- “What do you wish worked better?”
- “Is there anything you’ve given up trying to fix because it never seems to improve?”
Your role is listener. Their words are better than any pitch deck, because they show the world as it is, not as you imagine it.
When someone tells you a story about struggling with a spreadsheet at midnight, that picture is worth more than a polished theory on a whiteboard.
2. Watch what they do, not just what they say
People don’t always know how to explain their problems. But you can learn a lot by observing their behaviour.
Be on the lookout for:
- Workarounds – Are they building spreadsheets or strapping multiple tools together to get something done?
- **Avoidance **– Are there features in their current tools they never touch because they’re too confusing or slow?
- Repetition – Are they doing the same task over and over because there’s no automation?
Imagine shadowing someone who spends an hour copying data between systems. They never complain, yet the pain is obvious. That hidden effort is fertile ground for solutions.
Observation strips away the filter of polite answers. Actions are the truest feedback a founder can collect.
3. Push further with follow-up questions
The first answer you hear is rarely the whole story. People often share symptoms while the root cause sits underneath.
That’s why your job isn’t just to collect quotes, it’s to investigate. Think of yourself like a detective pulling at the threads of a clue.
You’re not satisfied with “It’s too expensive”:
- “What creates that feeling of expense?”
- “Does the issue come from upfront payment, ongoing fees, or unpredictable extras?”
- “Would the price feel different if it returned ten hours a week back to you?”
If someone says, “It’s too hard to do this,” ask:
- “Which part feels hardest to navigate?”
- “What have you tried to make it easier?”
- “How did the last tool compare?”
Each follow-up helps you get closer to the root cause. And once you know the real problem, you can design the right fix.
4. Look for emotional pain
Not every struggle shows up in time sheets or budget lines. Many sit in the mind and body, like stress, worry, embarrassment, or pressure.
These carry enormous weight in decision-making. It’s always helpful to dig into these areas and ask questions that open the door to feeling:
- “What’s the hardest part of dealing with this?”
- “What’s the risk if this goes wrong?”
- “How do you feel when you have to do this task?”
When a founder hears, “Every week I dread this report because if I get it wrong, my boss thinks I’m careless,” that’s not just inefficiency at stake – it’s anxiety, reputation, and confidence.
These are all hugely important emotional drivers to tackle. Products that create calm, confidence, or relief hit deeper than products that save time alone. Emotional drivers often tip the scales when someone decides to pay for a solution. \
5. Explore the cost of doing nothing
One of the clearest ways to make pain visible is to trace what happens when the problem remains. Many people learn to live with inefficiency, but once they see the actual cost, urgency appears.
Here are some useful questions for you to explore:
- “How many hours does this task take you each week?”
- “What’s the financial hit when something slips through the cracks?”
- “What’s lost if this situation continues for the next twelve months?”
For example: a team that spends two hours a day reconciling invoices might shrug it off, until they realise it equates to 500 hours a year, the equivalent of hiring another staff member.
When founders highlight these costs, they shift the conversation from inconvenience to opportunity. Doing nothing is no longer neutral, it carries a visible price.
Final thoughts
Every successful startup begins the same way: someone saw a painful problem and built a solution to make it go away.
You don’t need a breakthrough idea. You need a clear pain and the discipline to understand it better than anyone else. That’s what makes people care and makes them buy.
So get out there. Talk to your customers. Watch what they do. Ask why until you hit the nerve. Then build from where it hurts. That’s where the opportunity lies.
