Why Starting with Segments, Ecosystems and Problems Matters More Than Just Building an Idea or MVP

In many startup narratives you’ll hear: “I had a great idea, built an MVP, and went to market.” That timeline—Idea → MVP → Selling—is comfortable, familiar, and has been glorified by many accelerators and lean-startup frameworks. But, if you’re participating in Venturethon and aiming for a fundable, scalable, sustainable venture, then the sequence of Segment identification → Customer ecosystem → Problem definition is not just helpful—it is critical.

Here are five reasons why this shift in sequence gives you an edge — and how it aligns with both research and practice in innovation and startup building.

1. Identify the Right Segments: Don’t Waste Effort on the Wrong Customer

A strong business model begins with who your customer is. According to the Business Model Canvas tradition (Osterwalder & Pigneur), one of the earliest blocks is “Customer Segments”. Research shows that startups that clearly identify customer segments early are more likely to succeed than those who focus too early on product features. For example, Slávik, Bednár & Mišúnová Hudáková (2021) found that many early‐stage firms fail because the business model was incomplete—often due to weak customer-segment definitions. (MDPI)

Likewise, a study by Denoo et al. (2022) demonstrated that a young firm’s customer portfolio breadth significantly influences business‐model evolution and success. (Wiley Online Library)

In Venturethon terms: before you pull up Figma or start coding, map out who you believe your customer(s) are. Consider segments by job-to-be-done, context, size, willingness to pay, adoption dynamics. Getting that wrong means you’re building for the wrong audience, which leads to wasted MVP cycles.

2. Understand the Customer Ecosystem: See the Bigger System

Segment identification gives you who. Ecosystem mapping gives you where and how. The customer sits inside a network of influences: partners, regulators, intermediaries, channels, competing products, adjacent players. Brunner (2025) argues that the first pillar of a business model is the target customer, incorporating the ecosystem around them (intermediaries, value-networks, end-customers). (sciencedirect.com)

From accelerator practice (for example, the top European programmes at hubs such as Y Combinator or Techstars), founders are encouraged to map not just their end-user, but the entire chain of value: suppliers, key partners, regulatory gatekeepers, channel partners, adopters and influencers.

In Venturethon terms: build a “customer ecosystem” canvas — identify who influences the segment, who enables or blocks adoption, what channels matter, what infrastructure or regulation matters. When you do this before MVP, you design a venture fit to the system rather than forcing your idea into it.

3. Define the Problem Before You Build the Solution

When you skip segments and ecosystem, and jump straight to “we’ll build this awesome product”, your MVP often solves no urgent, validated problem. The lean‐startup folk call this “build-first, validate‐later”—and yes, it works sometimes. But research and accelerator reports show many startups die because the problem was weak, barely relevant, or too niche. As Talovic (2015) argues, the customer discovery method emphasises identifying and evaluating opportunities before committing to solutions. (Chalmers ODR)

In Venturethon terms: use the segment and ecosystem insights to craft a clear problem statement. For your chosen segment: What key job is not being done? What workaround are they using? What is the emotional or economic cost? Solutions are only meaningful once you’ve validated the problem.

By placing this before MVP, you build with evidence rather than on a hunch.

4. Build an Evidence-Driven Model vs. A Feature-Driven MVP

Contrast the classic sequence: Idea → MVP → Selling. The risk: you build features your segment doesn’t care about, you launch into a channel that isn’t effective, or you encounter a blocker in the ecosystem you ignored (e.g., regulation, partner gatekeeper).

By instead doing: Segment → Ecosystem → Problem → Business Model → MVP → Go-to-Market, you anchor your MVP in validated insight. Slávik et al. (2021) emphasise that startups rarely succeed when the business model is weak; the study pointed out “start‐ups are too obsessed with product uniqueness and do not perceive real market interest.” (MDPI)

Accelerators like Y Combinator reinforce this: they push founders to demonstrate traction in a segment before scaling.

In Venturethon terms: once you’ve defined segment + ecosystem + problem, your Canvas should include validated assumptions: segment size, value delivery, partner roles, revenue logic. Your MVP becomes an experiment against that model — not just a prototype for the sake of building.

5. You Are Building for Investors & Scale - So This Order Matters

In a competition like Venturethon, judges, mentors and investors look for evidence of repeatability and fit — not just a cool prototype. When you say: “Here is our segment (50 k users), here is our ecosystem (channel, partner, regulation), here is our problem (validated by 30 interviews), here is our business model (unit economics), here is our MVP (tested with 10 users)”, you speak the language of scale and investment readiness.

Conversely, founders who build an MVP and then try to find customers often struggle. A recent startup‐software study found “customer need pivot” and “customer segment pivot” are the most common triggers of major pivots or failure. (arXiv)

In Venturethon terms: your story needs to show you chose the right segment, understood the system, validated the problem, then built. That sequence signals you’re building a venture—not just a product.

How to Apply This in Your Venturethon Journey

1. Segment Workshop: Use your first week to brainstorm 3–5 high-potential segments. Prioritise according to need urgency, willingness to pay, accessibility, and fit.

   
   

2. Ecosystem Mapping: For your top segment, draw a one‐page map: end user → influencers → gatekeepers → channels → partners → regulations → adjacent solutions.

   
   

3. Problem Validation: Conduct at least 8–10 structured interviews in your segment. Use open questions: “What is your biggest pain? How are you solving it now? What would make it easier?”

   
   

4. Canvas & Assumptions: Populate your Venturethon-Canvas with segment, problem, value proposition, channel, partner roles, revenue logic. List top 5 assumptions.

   
   

5. MVP Design & Experimentation: Build your minimum thing (could be clickable demo, landing page, questionnaire) and test one assumption: e.g., “Will 20% of target segment click ‘Sign up’ if we offer X?”

   
   

6. Iteration & Pitch Preparation: Use your validated data to refine your story. In your final deck emphasise: “We selected this segment because… We mapped their ecosystem and found this partner/gatekeeper… We validated the problem with N interviews and saw X% willing to pay… Based on that we built an MVP/yielded metric… Here is our model for scale.”

Conclusion

In summary: for Venturethon participants who seek real outcomes—not just prototypes—starting with segment identification, then mapping the customer ecosystem, and defining the problem is far more strategic than jumping straight into idea generation and MVP building.

Why? Because it ensures you build for the right people, in the right system, solving the right problem.

That sequence elevates your venture from an experiment to a business—and that is exactly what investors, mentors and corporate partners are looking for.

Let’s validate before we build—and build with purpose.

References

Denoo, L., et al. (2022). The impact of customer ties and industry segment maturity on business model change. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, DOI. (Wiley Online Library)

Slávik, Š., Bednár, R. & Mišúnová Hudáková, I. (2021). The Structure of the Start-Up Business Model—Qualitative Analysis. Sustainability, 13(15), 8386. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158386 (MDPI)

Talovic, A. (2015). Customer Discovery for Developing Business Models. Chalmers University publication. (Chalmers ODR)

Brunner, M. (2025). Including intermediaries and end customers in the business model: the first pillar is the target customer. Industrial Marketing Management. (Pre-print) (sciencedirect.com)

Blank, S. (2013). The Four Steps to the Epiphany. (Lean LaunchPad method) (Wikipedia)