In the US, there's generally a proposal process two years in to determine this, and even there' it's not surprising to see a pivot a year or so after that once

In the US, there's generally a proposal process two years in to determine this, and even there' it'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. 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.