In a recent LinkedIn post, Steven Bartlett urges business owners and founders to recognize that many of their challenges are not unique, but rather recurring issues that have been solved by others throughout history. He posits that a significant portion of entrepreneurial struggles are simply “old problems wearing new clothes,” advising against the common tendency to believe one’s situation is exceptionally special or unprecedented.
“95% of your problems are old problems wearing new clothes… please understand this framework 👇🏾”
The Illusion of Uniqueness in Business Challenges
Steven Bartlett contends that founders often fall into the trap of believing their specific circumstances are distinct, leading them to waste valuable time and resources attempting to solve issues that have long been addressed. He draws parallels from historical contexts to illustrate this point, noting how ancient figures like Caesar dealt with supply chain issues and how medieval banking families faced complex investor relations.
“That supplier who’s ghosting you? Caesar had the same issue with grain merchants 100s of years ago. That investor who keeps moving the goalposts? The Medici banks dealt with that in 1400s Florence,” Bartlett writes.
He emphasizes that this tendency to perceive uniqueness can hinder progress. Whether it’s supplier issues, investor relations, co-founder dynamics, or operational challenges, Bartlett argues that frameworks and solutions likely exist from past experiences. The critical first step, according to Bartlett, is to question whether a problem has been solved before.
The Power of Asking “Who’s Already Solved This?”
Bartlett shares his personal evolution in business, revealing that it took him 12 of his 15 years in entrepreneurship to adopt a crucial mindset shift. He now prioritizes asking, “Has anyone solved this before?” This question, he explains, dramatically increases productivity by directing founders towards existing expertise rather than reinventing solutions from scratch.
He contrasts truly novel challenges, like Netflix’s initial foray into streaming, with more common business problems. “When I started hiring people – ancient problem. Millions had done it before,” he states, highlighting that most operational aspects of business are well-trodden territory.
According to Bartlett, the most effective approach for established problems is to identify and leverage existing expertise. This can involve paying for advice, hiring experienced individuals, or simply seeking out those who have navigated similar terrain. “Whatever it takes to not spend three years learning what they can tell me in three minutes,” he advises.
“The smartest founders I know are intellectual thieves – they steal everything that’s been solved and pour all their creativity into the 5% that’s genuinely unprecedented…”
Navigating Uncharted Territory vs. Solved Problems
Bartlett differentiates between problems that require innovation and those that benefit from established knowledge. When a challenge is genuinely unprecedented, he advocates for rapid experimentation and learning through failure. However, for the vast majority of business issues, he champions a strategy of identifying and adopting pre-existing solutions.
He identifies ego, inexperience, and insecurity as primary drivers behind founders’ reluctance to seek out existing solutions. “For many founders ego makes us think we’re too special for other people’s solutions. Inexperience convinces them their situation is unique. Insecurity makes them think they look weak for asking for help,” Bartlett explains.
This leads to a tragic inefficiency, where founders dedicate their prime years to solving problems that have already been mastered. Bartlett concludes with a potent observation on the cost of this approach:
“The most expensive education I’ve gotten is learning things myself that someone twice my age would have told me for free over coffee… 😅”
Ultimately, Bartlett’s message is a call to action for business leaders to be more efficient and effective by focusing their creative energy on the truly novel aspects of their ventures, rather than expending it on problems that have already been solved.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Steven Bartlett on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on December 1, 2025 | View original post on LinkedIn →