What's the best way to solve an old question? With a new answer.

New solutions transform markets, change business models, and even save lives. Companies that bring us those solutions can dominate their transformed industries and become long-term success stories. Where those companies succeed, smart and forward-looking investors can, too. Fool co-founder David Gardner calls these winning firms the "visionary leaders and founders who saw through the problem in the first place, and moved first to create their dynamic solutions." Spot these problem-solvers early, and you have the chance to benefit from their new ideas, and to share in the profits that follow.

Answers in action
A decade ago, Genentech (NYSE:DNA) brought a new set of solutions to treating cancer. With Herceptin to attack breast cancer and Rituxan for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, Genentech changed the way doctors helped patients, became an industry leader in drug development, and gave investors healthy returns -- more than 300% in the past five years, and nearly 1,000% since 1998. Today, Genentech is the world's largest biotech company; looking ahead, the Foolish community voted it the "Best Drug Stock for 2007."

Our Rule Breakers growth investing service follows the biotech beat each month, looking for the next Genentech. We're finding candidates such as the deep cancer pipeline and solid partnerships of our two-time recommendation Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL), and the diversified portfolio targeting unmet needs at three-time selection PDL BioPharma (NASDAQ:PDLI).

How do you do business without banks? In the underdeveloped towns of South Africa, one company is creating new answers to this age-old problem. Net 1 UEPS (NASDAQ:UEPS) introduced its universal electronic payment of smart cards, and offline commerce for businesses and individuals has flourished. Consumers get a portable, protected source of funds, and merchants get transaction options with less administrative costs. This Rule Breakers recommendation has built its intellectual property base and is using it to spread operations into more locations.

Of course, not all problems need high-tech answers. What's the best way to send a package across town or around the globe? Despite the recent buzz about progress made by 3D Systems (NASDAQ:TDSC) in creating three-dimensional objects from your home printer, your best bet for that shipment will likely be FedEx (NYSE:FDX) and its planes and trucks, not a primitive teleporter. The shipping titan rose to the top of its field by delivering unparalleled logistics, efficiency, and dependability, and it's got the scale to continue expanding. In a world with more packages going more places, FedEx has put together the leading solution.

The next set of answers
These companies developed novel approaches to old problems, then transformed their innovations into new ways of doing business. They capitalized on demand, and their market-leading positions have held back competitors. As this dominance continues, the companies -- and investors who saw the changes early enough -- have reaped the financial rewards.

Finding these companies means asking the right questions. Rule Breakers is on a mission to find great growth stocks, and one of our strategies is finding companies with new solutions to old problems. David Gardner and his team of experts follow key industries in biotechnology, consumer trends, and new technologies, identifying the questions of today and discovering the current leaders in the race for the answers of tomorrow. If you're interested in finding these next great growth stocks, a 30-day free trial to the market-beating Rule Breakers is just the answer for you.

Rule Breakers editor Rik Silverman still has a few questions, but not about the Fool's disclosure policy. He doesn't own shares of any of the companies mentioned here. FedEx is a Stock Advisor recommendation.