What is Real Problem AI?

Real Problem AI is a curated directory of 100 real problems worth building an AI startup around. Each problem is scored honestly on severity, AI feasibility, market signal, and competition gap. We're for builders looking for what to build, not for ethics debates about AI.

What is the difference between Real Problem AI and AI ethics or AI risks indexes?

Real Problem AI catalogues problems AI can solve: productive, commercial opportunities for builders. AI ethics indexes catalogue problems with AI itself (bias, environmental cost, copyright, consciousness). Different intent, different audience: founders and indie hackers vs researchers and policy folks.

What should I build with AI in 2026?

Look for problems with high severity (it costs people hours, sleep, or revenue every week), high AI feasibility (LLMs, vision or voice are great at this today), strong market signal (Reddit threads + willingness to pay), and a clear competition gap (incumbents miss the same obvious thing). Real Problem AI scores 100 such problems for you on those four axes.

Where do Real Problem AI's startup ideas come from?

From three sources, scanned each cycle: 1) Reddit threads where people describe a real friction in their own words, 2) podcasts and talks of founders young builders trust (Nikhil Kamath, Aman Gupta, Ankur Warikoo, Raj Shamani, Andrej Karpathy, Greg Isenberg), and 3) a continuous 1,000+ source scan covering forums, app store reviews, regulator filings, and field interviews.

Is Real Problem AI free?

Yes. Browsing every problem, opening every score breakdown, raising your hand on a co-founder match, and the founder vault are all free. There is no paywall.

How is each problem scored?

Four axes, each 1-10, weighted: Problem Severity (30%), AI Feasibility (25%), Market Signal (25%), Competition Gap (20%). Weighted average is the Opportunity Score on each card. Only problems clearing 7.0+ make the live list.

Why does a self-managing landlord spend the workday playing phone tag for one repair?

Every leaking sink means texting the tenant for availability, calling a plumber who offers a different slot, then relaying back and forth from a day job, and the only escape on offer is paying a property manager 10 percent of gross rent.

Category: PropTech / Real Estate · Trend: Agents · Opportunity score: 7.8 / 10

What is the “Why does a self-managing landlord spend the workday playing phone tag for one repair?” problem in 2026?

Who has this problem?

Small landlords self-managing a handful of units while holding a full-time job.

Recorded source context

Dataset source note: maintenance dispatch has easily become the most annoying part of my day.

This note may summarize the referenced material rather than quote it verbatim. Source label: BiggerPockets landlord forum thread on phone tag in tenant maintenance, 22 September 2026, 20 replies. (primary source).

Existing players in this space

Latchel: Outsourced maintenance coordination, priced per door and aimed at portfolios rather than three units.
Property Meld: Maintenance workflow software for property management companies.
AppFolio: Full property management suite, heavy and expensive for a part-time landlord.
Giving tenants the vendor's number: Common workaround that loses the written record and the landlord's control of cost.

What existing players are missing

A text-based agent on the landlord's own number that takes the tenant's request and photos, asks the regular plumber or HVAC tech for slots, books a time both accept, and only pings the landlord to approve the quote.

How Real Problem AI scores this opportunity

Aggregate score: 7.8 / 10. Four-axis rubric:

Problem severity: 8 / 10
AI feasibility today: 8 / 10
Market signal: 8 / 10
Competition gap: 7 / 10

How to build a solution: stack hints

SMS and voice agent (Twilio)
LLM triage of request and photos
Calendar negotiation between tenant and vendor
Approval and work order log