The best startup ideas don't start with a solution - they start with a problem that can't be ignored. In this week's episode of Dorm Room Ventures, I'm joined by Nelson Chu, a venture capitalist at Kinetic Ventures with nearly three decades of experience and a mentor at Virginia Tech's APEX Center for Entrepreneurs.

We break down the "Hair-on-Fire" problem framework - what it really means to solve something urgent versus something merely interesting, why the status quo is your biggest competitor, and how to pressure-test your idea before you've written a single line of code. Nelson also shares how to recognize when you're building a solution in search of a problem, what real customer validation actually looks like, and the very first step to take if you realize your startup may be off track.

Connect with Nelson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonchu/

Check out Kinetic Ventures: https://www.kineticventures.com/