Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution — Key Concepts (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts, terms, and metaphors from Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution.

Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution

A core entrepreneurial philosophy that emphasizes identifying and loving the user problem over fixating on a specific solution or premature money; guides product decisions toward solving real user needs.

Product-Market Fit (PMF)

The point at which a product effectively satisfies a large segment of the market and meets user needs, often achieved through iteration and learning from failures.

Waze

Uri Levine’s flagship app and a billion-dollar exit; an example of startup success driven by solving a real user problem.

Start-up Nation

A term describing Israel’s culture and ecosystem of thriving startups and entrepreneurial activity.

Unicorn

A privately held startup valued at or above $1 billion.

Wheels of Zeus (WoZ)

Uri Levine’s early startup focused on trackable location devices; name originated from branding and domain considerations (woz.com).

First Kiss metaphor

A storytelling idea that a founder’s story should emotionally engage investors or users, like a memorable first kiss.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

A design/product principle emphasized in the book, advocating removal of unnecessary features to keep products easy to understand.

End-user focus

Prioritizing the needs and experiences of the end user as the central driver of product decisions.

Investor story

The compelling narrative told to investors to convey the problem, insight, and value of the solution in human terms.

4-minute mile barrier

A metaphor for achieving a landmark milestone; in this context, reaching a billion-dollar exit as a breakthrough in startup history.

Billion-dollar exit

A startup exit valued at one billion dollars, signaling a major scale and success milestone.

Woz.com naming anecdote

The branding moment where Uri proposed Wheels Of Zeus (WOZ) and identified woz.com as a domain, shaping the company’s identity.

PMF iteration

The process of repeatedly refining a product to achieve Product-Market Fit, characterized by trials, failures, and retries.

Go Global

Expanding a startup from its home market to international markets to drive growth.