Perfect Problems: The Hidden Gold Mine Every Entrepreneur Misses

How to Spot—and Solve—the Problems That Will Make You Unstoppable

What separates legendary entrepreneurs from everyone else? According to Jim McKelvey’s 'The Innovation Stack,' it’s not intelligence, resources, or even luck—it’s the ability to find and attack perfect problems. These are challenges that have no existing solution, but are just within reach for someone willing to invent.

Most of us are trained to copy what works. This is smart—until you hit a wall. Perfect problems are the exceptions: they can’t be solved by imitation. Instead, they demand creativity, persistence, and a personal connection. McKelvey suggests using the Serenity Prayer as a guide: accept what you can’t change, change what you can, and seek the wisdom to know the difference. Perfect problems live in that narrow band of solvable-yet-unsolved challenges.

Examples abound: The founder who couldn’t accept credit cards and lost a sale, sparking a revolution in payments. The furniture company boycotted by suppliers, forced to invent flat-pack shipping. The airline that couldn’t compete by the old rules, so it rewrote them. Each story starts with a personal frustration—a pain point others ignored or accepted.

The lesson? Don’t chase trends. Chase your own perfect problems. The frustration that keeps you up at night might be the gold mine you’ve been searching for. 1 2 3