Your idea sucks Why don't we be more honest when networking at startup events?

I have been proven wrong far too many times to believe that I am still in any way a decent judge of what may be a good idea or viable startup.

The best example I can give here is from a few years ago when I was chatting online with some startup folks. One of them was building a Twitter based app where you would enter your tweets and it would post them at an interval you specify. I believe my thoughts at the time were that it must be the lamest idea I ever came across. Fast forward a few years and that startup, now known to the world as Buffer, is making over a million dollars a year and growing at a crazy rate.

It's very, very hard to judge whether an idea actually sucks from the elevator pitch, especially if the person giving it isn't experienced and confident about pitching. If we went around saying other people's idea sucks we'd most likely be saying their pitch sucks - they didn't communicate it well enough. That's a problem, but it probably isn't the end of the world.

I think the key thing to remember is that you very rarely "get" something that might be a groundbreaking innovation the first time you hear about it, so holding back on criticism and judgement until you've heard a bit more isn't a bad strategy.

Why don't we tell people their ideas suck?

Well here you are, talking to somebody who's spent months thinking about something from every angle imaginable. And you've given it five minute's thought. Who are you to say their idea sucks? You know nothing about it.

A much better approach is to ask questions. Don't say "your idea sucks", ask "Do you have any users?", don't say "your idea sucks", ask "What sort of growth have you found?" and so on. Eventually you will hit a question where the person doesn't know the answer. Congratulations, you've just helped somebody improve their idea.

Its not up to other people to validate your startup. That's your job.

If you cannot get that feedback because you are waiting for them to break the rules of social behaviour, then all the other problems of running a startup are simply going to flatten you.

Here are some ideas I only half-heartedly do myself:

1. Have a website with a mailchimp mailing list on it. Ask them to subscribe. Hell, enter their email in front of them right there and then - then wait. If they confirm, they liked your idea, if not they did not.

2. Have a mock-up online and a description. Email people a link to it, with a unique tracking code. If someone clicks the link, they liked your idea.

3. have a MVP and ask them to use it. email them a username and password. If they use it - they liked it.

Basically, waiting around for other people to give you feedback is like waiting around for them to give you money. Ask for the sale.

At ilab in Brisbane last year, I was honest when I came across some people's ideas: if they'd been attempted (seriously, with actual execution) before and had no luck, I pointed that out. If the idea wasn't fully formed yet, I chatted to other founders about what it was missing, from what I could see.

A lot of Australian founders really didn't like that for the most part, but a couple (whom I'm now friends with!) took it really well, pivoted, or decided to do something else entirely, and they thanked me for the feedback (and the feedback of the mentors that said similar things!).

Mentors giving feedback like that was often met with incredulity and hurt. "You are NOT your idea" is really important, but I have a theory that Australia's (especially Brisbane!) startup scene is so small, and so fledgling, that we're still learning :)

For what it's worth, I was told my idea was good, but my numbers (which were realistic, based on exits from companies that were similar but not the same, about $6-9mil after 2-3 years) were said to be too small for venture capital to try.

VC's and investors in Australia are also learning, and are a lot less willing to give an idea money to try. But that's okay! Things will change, given time and effort.

Some of the worst, stupidest startups ideas I have ever seen, which obviously will never make money and seem pretty easy to recreate in a weekend:

-Waze

-Twitter

-Instagram

-Tumblr

This is why I don't tell people their ideas suck, I'm a terrible judge of it.

In my experience one mans "trash" is another mans "Twitter". Not liking things is highly subjective and such I don't think people should be flat out telling other people they think their ideas are rubbish because lets face it a pitch for a service like Twitter; It's like text messaging, but on the Internet instead — sounds lame when you put it like that, but look at Twitter nowadays, a service that keeps growing and innovating and keeping itself relevant. It was one of quite a few apps that were shot down but succeeded in the end regardless of what others thought.

If someone tells you they're working on an Instagram for cat pictures or an app that will play a random sound at an interval you specify, then yes, tell them it's a horrible idea. But just because an idea sounds simple or has been done before doesn't mean it will fail. It takes more than an idea to succeed.

When twitter was first pitched, how many people would have said that the idea sucked? What about airbnb? Kickstarter? pinterest? The list goes on and on.

VCs make money by betting that only 1 in 100 of their investments will be a success. What makes you think that a random person at a start-up event will have any more success.

There are two good reasons why

1. It's very difficult to tell what's a good idea or not. 'Not Invented Here' syndrome is one reason why we think other people's ideas generally suck, but in the end it's almost all down to execution.

2. Startups are hard. It's much more useful to start out gung-ho with a crummy idea, and then learn exactly why it's crummy and adapt than to be shot down before take-off because the idea isn't perfect.

and one slightly less good reason:

3. We want people to like us. It's hard to break down an idea and not breed any resentment.

All ideas suck until they are products.

Then they either suck or they are awesome, but at least they are real enough to be judged at that point.

It is not good manners to tell people that their idea, in your opinion, "sucks". That's why.

I wouldn't tell them that, just as I wouldn't tell them that, in my opinion, their clothing, haircut, or other aspects of personal appearance "suck". Nor that any aspect of their personality "sucks".

It's the same thing in the gaming space. 99% of people's game ideas suck (honestly, it's extremely difficult to have a non-shitty idea, especially if you are trying to be unique and invent new game mechanics).

Part of the problem is that everyone thinks they can be a "game designer". It's one of those skills that is not measurable; so if you suck at it, it's hard to tell.

I think that as people gain maturity and experience, their eyes open, and are more willing to give and receive criticism like this (hopefully). Another reason why age and experience are valuable.

It goes both ways; the idea is of little significance. A great idea does not guarantee success and a shitty idea does not guarantee failure.

Execute, understand your market, and make fucking money.

I don't tell people their ideas suck because the Internet has proven time and time again that success is often less about the idea and more about the execution.

Mostly because it's not productive. Ideas, especially early ones, are malleable and changing. Saying it "Sucks" is like building a brick wall. Instead you want to ask something that illuminates the way so the idea improves.

That being said, first time entrepreneurs benefit most from this approach while people more experienced can cut to the chase.

It's all about trying to be helpful.

Because it's in my interest not to tell them. What do I gain by telling them their idea sucks? I have an uncomfortable interaction and I potentially make an enemy, or at least someone who now finds it uncomfortable to be around me.

What do I lose by being "nice"? Nothing. How does it serve my interests to go out on a limb and tell it like it is?

  > If an idea has already been done, lacks market demand 
  > or is plain crap should we not say something?

Let's invert this: Why are founders so likely to believe that polite throwaway comments from random people validate their business idea?

I was reminded of this post, which I think makes a good case for humility: http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3124-give-it-five-minutes

because telling someone that something sucks is utterly useless. Try asking constructive questions that will either lead you to realize that it doesnt suck and that the 5 minutes of thought you put into it is orders of magnitude less than the time and effort she/he put into it. Or you will get them to stumble upon a perspective they haven´t yet considered and maybe find a solution to it - or if it truly does suck - realize the same and spend time figuring out what to do. Destructive criticism is utterly pointless in the startup world - or anywhere for that matter.

Reminds me to "How to give negative feedback effectively"

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4431289

People aren't ready to hear what they aren't ready to hear.

And if they are, they probably know it already.

So you are asking "Who will step up and be the Simon Cowell of startup events?"

Slightly off-topic, but the site can do with a better contrast scheme.

a) Honesty costs money. If somebody wants to tell you something for free, they also want to do something else with/to you.

b) Networking events are for networking.

I don't know about your ideas, but your grammar, certainly.