Nothing is a solved problem. HipChat's a great product, and in my opinion the current market leader, but there are always ways to innovate and disrupt. (That being said, using IRC probably isn't it.)
No, I do mean it literally. The wheel is a pretty basic invention, and yet tire manufacturing is a $140 billion industry that spends a great deal on research and development.
When you think a problem is solved, it's actually in a perfect position to be disrupted.
Yes. My point was that there's a huge amount of effort currently being expended to do just that. No one is trying to change the fact that a wheel is round and rolls, but from there, there's quite a bit of space to innovate.