# What are people asking for

URL: /start/guides/what-are-people-asking-for · Id: `guide:what-are-people-asking-for`

> Say "what are people asking for" and get the Problems your signups named, ranked by revenue at stake, with quotes and who said each.

Read what your signups said, grouped by the [Problem](/business/nouns/problem) they named. The ranking puts the problem people would pay to fix first.

Needs: [Find out if anyone wants this](/start/guides/find-out-if-anyone-wants-this)

**Before it runs**

- You leave the chat: Never: it all happens in the chat.
- First question at Live: “Put the top one in next week’s work?”
- First question at Repeatable: “Paying customers only, or everyone?”
- What it costs: Nothing.
- To undo it: Nothing to undo: ranking reads answers and changes none.

## What you get
- 1 list of Problems, revenue at stake first (Problem)
- 1 quote per Problem, in the person’s own words (Evidence)
- 1 count of who said it, each linked to their Lead (Lead)
- 1 tool they use today, per Problem (Problem)
- 1 query behind the ranking, shown beside it (Collection)

## Your agent does
**For agents**

- Guide: `guide:what-are-people-asking-for`, status `live`. Page: [/start/guides/what-are-people-asking-for.md](/start/guides/what-are-people-asking-for.md).
- Approval: none. Run it when the founder asks.
- Leaves the chat: never.
- Needs first: [Find out if anyone wants this](/start/guides/find-out-if-anyone-wants-this).
- Run: call the steps in order, each through the API, SDK, CLI or MCP tab below; a later step passes the `$id` an earlier one returns. Each value marked example is the sample business’s: pass the founder’s own.

| Step | Verb | Inputs (type, required, this guide’s value) | Returns |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [`Problem.rank`](/business/nouns/problem/rank) (`verb:Problem.rank`) | `icp` ICP (an id): example `"icp_1"` | `problems` Problem[] |

Returns: the last call answers with `problems` and its `action`, whose `status` is `done`, `pending` (waiting on an Approval or a Worker), `failed`, `canceled` or `refused`:

```json
{
  "api": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app",
  "problems": [
    {
      "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/problems/problem_1",
      "$type": "Problem",
      "statement": "Tracks lease renewals for small property managers."
    }
  ],
  "action": {
    "$id": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/actions/action_1",
    "operation": "Problem.rank",
    "status": "done"
  },
  "links": {
    "self": "https://api.sb/leaseline.app/actions/action_1"
  }
}
```

Next: offer “Show only people who said they would pay”, or “Compare this week with last week”.

Calls: `Problem.rank`

Ask:

```text
What are people asking for?
What did signups say?
Which problems come up most in the interviews?
```

API:

```bash
# Problem.rank
curl -X POST https://api.sb/leaseline.app/problems/rank \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $STARTUP_BUILDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"icp":"icp_1"}'
```

SDK:

```ts
import { $ } from 'startup-builder'

await $.Problem.rank({ icp: 'icp_1' })
```

CLI:

```bash
npx startup-builder do Problem.rank --json '{"icp":"icp_1"}'
```

MCP:

```json
{
  "name": "do",
  "arguments": {
    "code": "return await $.Problem.rank({ icp: 'icp_1' })"
  }
}
```

The same sentence does more as the business grows:

| State | Calls | Asks first |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Idea](/business/lifecycle/states/idea) | [`Problem.rank`](/business/nouns/problem/rank) |  |
| [Live](/business/lifecycle/states/live) | [`Problem.rank`](/business/nouns/problem/rank), [`Issue.schedule`](/business/nouns/issue/schedule) | Put the top one in next week’s work? |
| [Repeatable](/business/lifecycle/states/repeatable) | [`Collection.query`](/business/nouns/collection/query), [`Problem.rank`](/business/nouns/problem/rank) | Paying customers only, or everyone? |

## Change it
- Show only people who said they would pay.
- Compare this week with last week.
- Email the top ten people to book a call.

## Under the hood
- Systems: [Discovery](/business/discovery), [Surveys](/systems/surveys), [Waitlists](/systems/waitlists)
- Nouns: [Problem](/business/nouns/problem), [Evidence](/business/nouns/evidence), [Lead](/business/nouns/lead), [ICP](/business/nouns/icp), [Interview](/business/nouns/interview)
- Events: [`Problem.ranked`](/business/events/Problem.ranked)

[`Problem.rank`](/business/nouns/problem/rank) orders Problems by revenue at stake, the strength of their [Evidence](/business/nouns/evidence) and the effort to fix them. A quote from someone who would pay outranks ten from people who would not.