People would use it for sex.
Teens will use anything for sex.
Validating your ideas on strangers (2017)
21–30 of 39 posts
Re: Validating your ideas on strangers (2017)
#22This is a 2017 blog post. It's a throwback to earlier hustle culture writings, before writing like this on LinkedIn became a pop culture meme.
Like most of the hustle culture writing, it's based on a single experience that may or may not have actually happened: The author approached someone in a bar and had a conversation, and now they're preaching this method as some groundbreaking business technique.
Cold approaches like this are not, in my opinion, a good idea if you want valid feedback. When you approach random people in a bar and interrupt them with some request, many people will go into defensive mode where they try to tell you what you want to hear to de-escalate and get you to go away.
Note their reaction:
> Their reaction was notably disturbed!
The author noticed they didn't appreciate his question but pressed on anyway, demanding they give him some feedback. Many people will play along for a few minutes and try to deliver something that fulfills the request and lets them get away from the situation.
That doesn't mean it's good advice. Like most hustle culture writing pieces, I don't think this advice to go to bars and interrupt random people and demand their feedback is a good idea.
Re: Validating your ideas on strangers (2017)
#23"The Mom Test" book seems to be about this exactly: https://www.momtestbook.com/
Re: Validating your ideas on strangers (2017)
#24This is like sending an unsolicited email to someone who might want to buy your product. A single instance is not a bad thing, but once it becomes a repeated occuance it is terrible. With this particular case, the threshold is likely to be in expectation. If you approach people and any of them are aware of this concept in advance, they might feel used. If they know what you are going to do before you start talking th…
> This is like sending an unsolicited email to someone who might want to buy your product.
It's worse than that. It's interrupting people who are trying to enjoy their night out and demanding they review your homework for you.
If people don't flat out tell you to go away, they're going to try to make up something simple as quick as possible to fulfill your task in the hopes that it will make you leave them alone.
Re: Validating your ideas on strangers (2017)
#25I went to a bar a few years ago and there was someone set up at a table in the corner with a weird-looking deck of cards and a sign that said, "help me test my game design!" That particular approach worked really well, but I think particularly because playing a game in a bar is fun.
Re: Validating your ideas on strangers (2017)
#26> Their reaction was notably disturbed! I apologized, saying I had a pitch coming up, and would really like their opinions. Well, they were much more negative toward my idea than I thought they would be!
Because you interrupted their social outing with techbro baggery, including being kinda disingenuous about "a pitch coming up".
> Focus grouping. The only real difference is it is FREE.
A non-consensual focus group, in a venue where people are going partly to get away from biz BS they have to tolerate during the workday.
But if you're going to do it anyway, there is a convention in bars, of offering to buy a person a drink. Especially when it's an ambitious approach. No longer FREE.
Re: Validating your ideas on strangers (2017)
#27I think that the author needs to read "The Mom Test".
Re: Validating your ideas on strangers (2017)
#28This is a 2017 blog post. It's a throwback to earlier hustle culture writings, before writing like this on LinkedIn became a pop culture meme. Like most of the hustle culture writing, it's based on a single experience that may or may not have actually happened: The author approached someone in a bar and had a conversation, and now they're preaching this method as some groundbreaking business technique. Cold approache…
I've been working on a few ideas in my free time for several years, and I'm also a frequent bar visitor. I live in a central part of a European city that is quite tourist-heavy, and I don't have a problem talking to strangers, whether they're locals or tourists. I never initiate discussions about my hobby projects, but if enough beer is consumed, such discussions are inevitable.
I have a clear impression that you can't get much reasonable feedback this way. Most people just don't know what you're talking about and will either support or dismiss your idea without knowing anything about the topic. They mostly react based on likeness to previous discussions or on a human likability level. Getting feedback this way has never worked for me.
Re: Validating your ideas on strangers (2017)
#29I went to a bar a few years ago and there was someone set up at a table in the corner with a weird-looking deck of cards and a sign that said, "help me test my game design!" That particular approach worked really well, but I think particularly because playing a game in a bar is fun.
In this case, it might work because you're not only asking for feedback; you're also (hopefully) contributing to people having fun.
Re: Validating your ideas on strangers (2017)
#30This is a 2017 blog post. It's a throwback to earlier hustle culture writings, before writing like this on LinkedIn became a pop culture meme. Like most of the hustle culture writing, it's based on a single experience that may or may not have actually happened: The author approached someone in a bar and had a conversation, and now they're preaching this method as some groundbreaking business technique. Cold approache…
I've been working on a few ideas in my free time for several years, and I'm also a frequent bar visitor. I live in a central part of a European city that is quite tourist-heavy, and I don't have a problem talking to strangers, whether they're locals or tourists. I never initiate discussions about my hobby projects, but if enough beer is consumed, such discussions are inevitable. I have a clear impression that you can…
> I never initiate discussions about my hobby projects, but if enough beer is consumed, such discussions are inevitable.
Bringing up a business idea as a conversation topic after getting to know someone over beers is one thing.
This blog post isn't about that, though. It's about ambushing people at a bar and demanding they review your startup idea.