---
id: ins_been-quietly-building-something-big
operator: Akash Anand
operator_role: 'Cofounder, CEO @ Clueso | AI Video Creation Platform'
source_url: https://www.clueso.io/blog/announcing-our-seed-funding
source_type: thread
source_title: 'Announcing our $1.4M seed funding — Clueso'
source_date: 2026-04-10
captured_date: 2026-05-04
domain: [pmm, gtm, hiring]
lifecycle: [launch, hiring-team-design]
maturity: applied
artifact_class: framework
score: { originality: 3, specificity: 4, evidence: 3, transferability: 4, source: 4 }
tier: B
related: []
raw_ref: raw/linkedin/reactions/linkedin-reactions-2026-04-10.md
title: 'Solve a problem you faced — not one you imagine — when pivoting'
---

# Solve a problem you faced, not one you imagine, when pivoting

## Claim

After three weeks of pivot hell at YC, the breakthrough came from Michael Seibel's advice: solve a problem you actually faced at your previous startup. That insight, that demo videos drove feature adoption at Desklamp but took two weeks each to produce, is what became Clueso, an AI-powered explainer-video platform that grew to a $1.4M seed round.

## Mechanism

Pivots fail when founders chase TAM instead of pain they've personally felt. First-person pain compresses the discovery loop because the founder is also the buyer. Every product decision can be tested against memory rather than interview cycles, which lets early product velocity stay high.

## Conditions

Holds for founders pivoting with relevant prior product experience. Fails for first-time founders without a prior product to draw pain from.