Build in Public: Defining the Product Vision and Solution Hypothesis

Oct 15, 2025

Last week, as part of the “Build in Public” series, I talked about identifying the customer’s problem, a potential solution, and who the customer is. However, I didn’t go into much detail about the actual solution or how I envision it.

Before speaking with the business owners I hope to sell to, I need at least a basic idea of what I’m building so I can conduct my interviews effectively.

That’s exactly what I’m going to do today — I’ll tell you more about the solution I have in mind.

If you haven’t read my previous post, you can check it here: ​“Build in Public: Business Idea and First Steps”​.

The Blind Founder

Imagine you want to open a café in your city. Where should it be? Which location is best — and why? How many people pass by each day? Is it a tourist area? What should you sell, and at what price? What makes nearby cafés stand out? How does the weather affect your business? What other factors matter?

Opening a café without basic research — on where you’re going and how you’ll get there — is like putting on a blindfold and trying to get from point A to point B by feeling your way along.

You might get there eventually, but will you? And if you do, how long will it take?

Simply put, information is as valuable as money. Whoever has information has power.

What If?

What if I had a platform — a single source of truth — that answers simple yet important questions about my current or future business? For example:

• If your café is located at “Oak Avenue 42,” will it be easily noticed by people walking along the main street next to it?
• During rainy periods, your income drops by 50%; therefore, it’s a good idea to list your products on delivery platforms like Glovo, Uber Eats, or Takeaway, because people tend to stay home.
• Competitors’ customers show a high level of satisfaction because they offer products X and Y, and services A and B.
• What is your average monthly and annual revenue performance compared with local competitors and the market as a whole?
• How do your features (Wi‑Fi, delivery, vegan options, etc.) compare with the competition?
• What is your table-occupancy level compared with competitors?

The list could go on and on.

Hypothesis

My hypothesis is that local cafés and restaurants need this kind of insight to make better decisions about:

• menu items
• pricing
• additional features (Wi‑Fi, vegan options, nutrition information such as calories, protein, carbohydrates, etc.)
• location
• ways to reach more customers online

The Platform

I imagine a web‑based SaaS platform that’s simple to use, with rich visual elements that make it intuitive for business owners. It would provide clear answers about how they’re positioned relative to their customers and the market, along with actionable insights on how to improve revenue.

With that said, I really like how Airbtics uses visual elements to illustrate the market performance of properties listed on Airbnb.

Data Sources

To build such a solution, I need data. Where will I get it? I have a few sources in mind — more on that in my next posts.

The First Customer Interview

A few days ago, I visited a café because I know the owner. As a rule of thumb, I didn’t mention anything about what I want to build — I wanted to avoid priming him or steering him toward my context. Instead, I asked simple questions:

How is business? Do you have trouble attracting new customers? How do you set your prices?

The response surprised me. He said he doesn’t research competitors. He cares only about the café’s operating costs and the margin he’s happy with; based on that, he sets his prices.

Most of his answers boiled down to: “I don’t care about competitors; people come anyway. The business is doing well, and I don’t do anything except run my café.”

I asked, “Are you interested in any tools or advice on how things could be done better?” He replied, “No, I’m not. I’m doing well.”

I hit a wall there. But this is just one case among many, and I simply need to keep speaking with other business owners to figure out what they need.

More on that later.