Every problem nobody believes in is worth bringing to the fair | Vital Young

In a Stanford University lab in the 1990s, Larry Page and Sergey Brin were trying to solve a problem that looked rather dull: how to rank academic papers based on citation relationships?

This wasn't what anyone would call a "startup idea" or a "business opportunity."

But it was this obscure academic problem that gave birth to the PageRank algorithm, which eventually became the core of Google's search engine and rewrote the fundamental logic of how information spreads in the internet age.

When OpenAI began training its first GPT model, most people weren't optimistic. Training a language model that seemed to "babble nonsense" was not only expensive but lacked a clear commercial path.

Yet they persisted in cracking that "unpromising" problem, eventually turning it into the engine accelerating transformation in the AI era.

We're increasingly realizing: real opportunity doesn't arrive dressed as an answer.

Questions that nobody believes in, challenges that no one wants to touch — these are what spark curiosity and may be the prerequisite for creating something new.

So for the third Vital Young market, we chose "Opportunity Always Comes Disguised as a Problem" as our theme, inviting everyone to share the "good problems" they saw that could become opportunities.

Someone brought an unreleased demo. Someone voiced a question they'd been stuck on for three months. Others rushed over and talked late into the night with new friends they met at the market, reluctant to leave.

Simple stalls, fun swag, a free-form space where people sat on the floor — the young people who came transformed these "problems" into discussable possibilities, growing freely through conversation with one another.

"I thought our problem was too small, too stupid. But after talking, all three of us at the stall felt the same way."

— Sam, market-goer

"Today's vibe was so chill, really loved it~"

— John, project lead at "MuXu Bar"

"The projects and people you invited are all so interesting."

— Emma, investor

"The enthusiasm people showed discussing our project on-site was beyond expectations!"

— Will, OpenTrust Lab

"Looking forward to your next one — we'll come present too."

— Steph, developer

Don't come with a problem looking for the one right answer. Use questions to ignite curiosity.

Don't seek certainty. Turn uncertainty into the moment where your next opportunity is born.

Vital Young has never been an event we orchestrate. It carries no formal burden, no pressure to "produce results." We only hope it becomes a good place where people can have genuine conversations and explore possibilities.

Next time, we invite you to come to the market with curiosity too!