---
id: "quote-problem-first"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["§ Understand Market Trends"]
tags: ["strategy"]
related: ["claim-business-problem-first", "contrarian-problem-over-tech", "person-sunil-gupta", "person-frank-cespedes"]
speakers: ["Sunil Gupta", "Frank V. Cespedes"]
quote: "Instead of starting with an “AI strategy,” first you must clarify what problems you want to solve or opportunities you want to capture to grow the business. Only then should you think about how AI, or any other tool, can help."
sources: ["commercial"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-commercial"
originDay: 5
articleStem: "hbr-foci-64-ai-broaden-customer-base"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/03/how-one-company-used-ai-to-broaden-its-customer-base"
sourceTitle: "How One Company Used AI to Broaden Its Customer Base"
---
# Start with Problems, Not AI

> "Instead of starting with an “AI strategy,” first you must clarify what problems you want to solve or opportunities you want to capture to grow the business. Only then should you think about how AI, or any other tool, can help."
> — [[entity-sunil-gupta|Sunil Gupta]] and [[entity-frank-v-cespedes|Frank V. Cespedes]]

The thesis statement of the source. It is the verbatim expression of [[claim-business-problem-first]] and the [[contrarian-problem-over-tech|contrarian rejection of "AI strategy"]].