For millions of drivers around the world, the navigation app Waze has become an indispensable tool – one that began with a simple question: how can we help people avoid traffic jams? According to platform co-founder Uri Levine, every big idea and billion-dollar unicorn begins with a problem that someone decides to solve. On October 9 in Vilnius, at Startup Fair – the largest startup event in Lithuania, organized by the Innovation Agency’s Startup Lithuania – he will share insights on what founders should consider if they dream of building a unicorn.

Levine is the co-founder of two unicorns, Waze and Moovit, a renowned tech entrepreneur, startup mentor, and author of the book Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution.

Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution

Asked about the secret to a successful startup, Levine insists: every big idea – and thus every successful startup – begins with a problem, not a solution.

“You need to look around and identify a problem. But here’s the truth: if it’s a problem only you care about, you should go see a therapist, not build a startup. If it’s a problem that affects many people, then you can create real value that changes their lives. The problem is like the North Star guiding your startup journey – it helps you navigate doubt and risk.”

He adds: “People don’t care what you do – they care what you do for them. A customer who truly cares about what you’re doing will want you to succeed. That’s worth remembering every step of the way.”

While skeptics may claim that solutions to every problem already exist, Levine has an answer.
“In 1899, at the U.S. Expo, the then-director of administration declared that the patent office could be closed because everything that could be invented had already been invented. Today, in 2025, the good news is that the world is full of problems. The bad news? The world is full of problems. Entrepreneurs who dream of building a unicorn only need to find one important problem, focus on it, and create a solution.”

From Crisis to Crisis

The startup journey, Levine emphasizes, is inevitably filled with setbacks and crises.
“If you’re afraid to fail – you’ve already failed. Failure is unavoidable when building a company, and you must fail fast – so you still have time to fix mistakes, improve your product, and release new versions.”

According to him, the most important quality of today’s entrepreneur is resilience – never giving up. Just as critical are the willingness to make hard decisions, the leadership skills to build a strong team, and the ability to adapt to constantly changing circumstances.

“There will always be challenges – some internal, like running out of money; others external, like pandemics, inflation, supply chain disruptions, or wars. You can’t prepare for every crisis, but you must be ready to endure them and keep moving forward,” Levine stresses.

A Long and Expensive Journey

Recalling the beginnings of Waze in 2007, Levine says it all started with a simple mission: helping drivers avoid traffic.

“Traffic jams are a problem everywhere in the world, so from day one we knew we were building a global solution. What we didn’t know was just how successful it would become.”

The road to success – and to the $1 billion acquisition by tech giant Google – was long and unpredictable.

“In the early years we were constantly balancing between ups and downs. Only around 2011–2012 did we start to see real growth. Throughout that time, we kept improving the product, searching for the right format and markets. Even in Vilnius, it took a few years from the moment Waze first became available until it truly worked well here,” Levine recalls.

Building and scaling a startup, finding the right market fit, and developing a growth model is always a long journey. Levine invites us to look at any hugely successful company and the road it has traveled:
“Take Google, Facebook, Amazon – only a small fraction of their current value was created in their first ten years. It’s a long road – and an extremely costly one.”

Think Globally from Day One

When discussing global growth and ambition, Levine points out that startups from smaller countries have a unique advantage: “Founders from smaller nations, including the Baltics, know from day one that their domestic market is too small. They think globally right away, and therefore expand internationally much faster. By contrast, startups from very large economies often linger too long in their local market – sometimes missing their chance to become global leaders.”

Thinking and acting globally from the very beginning is crucial, he stresses.

“We all know how competitive markets like the U.S., the U.K., and Japan are – especially for startups. My advice is to also look at slightly smaller, but equally promising markets such as Italy, Mexico, Brazil, or Indonesia,” says Levine.

More of Uri Levine’s insights will be shared at Lithuania’s largest startup event, Startup Fair, on October 9 in Vilnius.

More information: https://www.startupfair.lt/