In the US, there&#x27;s generally a proposal process <i>two years in</i> to determine this, and even there&#x27; it&#x27;s not surprising to see a pivot a year or so after that once preliminary data is in. By pre-agreeing to a problem (and part of the process), too much of the research definition process is skipped.<p>While half the PhD is about learning how to get to the solution, the other half is in learning how to pick the right problem. In terms of HN, making a startup solve a niche is great, but knowing how to grow it into a bigger space is better.