You guys should work on formatting your posts, bold list titles or italicize or underline - I am too lazy to read everything, I want to skim before I decide to read.
How to (In)validate Your Startup Idea
31–40 of 66 posts
Re: How to (In)validate Your Startup Idea
#32If anybody responds, tell them that the offer is oversubscribed and that it is no longer available. Wow! A company built to handle other people's money that recommends deception. What's wrong with this picture?
COLD email 20 of them and offer to pay THEM to use your
product if they are willing to offer some feedback.
If anybody responds, tell them that the offer is oversubscribed and that it is no longer available.
I wonder what is wrong with saying just "Hi, I would like to get feedback about project X.". Would that way have the same affect?
I'm asking that just becasue I try to follow an old proverb (not sure if translation to English is correct): if you have a smallest doubt about whether to lie or not, don't lie.
(no, I'm not good with the above rule, but at least helped me while dating and now in marriage)
Re: How to (In)validate Your Startup Idea
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you are being a little melodramatic. This is to vet an idea, not a sustainable way to build a business. I even said that it could/should be more of a thought experiment. And besides, I'm not recommending that you maliciously and deleteriously deceive people. pg on naughtiness: "Though the most successful founders are usually good people, they tend to have a piratical gleam in their eye. They're not goody-two-…
Sorry to say, Rich, that was not the response I expected. AFAIC, there is no gray area here. I have argued (yes, many have disagreed with me) the same for years here. A little background... I have seen more deals than you can imagine ruined because someone lost trust. As simple as that. The salesman fibbing to his wife on the phone in front of the customer. The contractor paying the 3rd party vendor a little extra to…
>I have seen more deals than you can imagine ruined because someone lost trust.
If you found that (in general) more business deals were lost as a result of being completely honest and outwardly truthful than being deceptive, would you still be involved in business? Completely hypothetical and probably untrue, but I'm curious how strong your ethics are.
Re: How to (In)validate Your Startup Idea
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you are being a little melodramatic. This is to vet an idea, not a sustainable way to build a business. I even said that it could/should be more of a thought experiment. And besides, I'm not recommending that you maliciously and deleteriously deceive people. pg on naughtiness: "Though the most successful founders are usually good people, they tend to have a piratical gleam in their eye. They're not goody-two-…
Sorry to say, Rich, that was not the response I expected. AFAIC, there is no gray area here. I have argued (yes, many have disagreed with me) the same for years here. A little background... I have seen more deals than you can imagine ruined because someone lost trust. As simple as that. The salesman fibbing to his wife on the phone in front of the customer. The contractor paying the 3rd party vendor a little extra to…
Are you saying that you believe that nobody should attempt to do smoke tests to measure product demand because you regard that as deceiving consumers? Its one thing to lie to make a sale, a completely different thing to not actually be able to deliver a product nobody ever paid for. The point of view you present seems extremely pedantic.
Re: How to (In)validate Your Startup Idea
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sorry to say, Rich, that was not the response I expected. AFAIC, there is no gray area here. I have argued (yes, many have disagreed with me) the same for years here. A little background... I have seen more deals than you can imagine ruined because someone lost trust. As simple as that. The salesman fibbing to his wife on the phone in front of the customer. The contractor paying the 3rd party vendor a little extra to…
If I had more time, I'd go through all your previous HN comments disparaging WePay for different reasons. Somehow I doubt your motivation for doing so is a sterling commitment to morality. If it was, I doubt you would introduce your criticism with: "A company built to handle other people's money...", and instead, just focus your criticism on the point you are attacking.
Personally, I'm inclined to agree that companies handling money need to be extra careful not to give the appearance of dishonesty.
That said, I can see why you might think it odd to object. All these people have done to respond to your offer is hit Reply, typed a couple words, and hit Send. It's not like you have some of their money.
On the other hand, why not make good on your offer? Tell them you haven't actually built it yet, but if and when you do, the offer is still open... and then keep your word.
Re: How to (In)validate Your Startup Idea
#36I'm not sure I'd want to take any advice that suggests starting off a business relationship by lying to the potential customer. (Re: "Identify your target customer. COLD email 20 of them and offer to pay THEM to use your product if they are willing to offer some feedback. See how many respond. If anybody responds, tell them that the offer is oversubscribed and that it is no longer available. See how many of those peo…
Dry testing has always been controversial, it seems.
I'd imagine that merely asking the potential users if they'd buy now, if it were available, would serve the same purpose.
Re: How to (In)validate Your Startup Idea
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Dry testing has always been controversial, it seems.
I'd imagine that merely asking the potential users if they'd buy now, if it were available, would serve the same purpose.
No, it wouldn't. "Would you buy know?" doesn't select the same people as "Click here to buy now".
Re: How to (In)validate Your Startup Idea
#38These are interesting ideas. I'd like to hear from any founders who have used any of these methods, and to what extent they were beneficial in gauging the eventual level of success of an idea.
I agree. And on that topic, what are some hair on fire problems that you have or have thought others might have?
Re: How to (In)validate Your Startup Idea
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you are being a little melodramatic. This is to vet an idea, not a sustainable way to build a business. I even said that it could/should be more of a thought experiment. And besides, I'm not recommending that you maliciously and deleteriously deceive people. pg on naughtiness: "Though the most successful founders are usually good people, they tend to have a piratical gleam in their eye. They're not goody-two-…
Sorry to say, Rich, that was not the response I expected. AFAIC, there is no gray area here. I have argued (yes, many have disagreed with me) the same for years here. A little background... I have seen more deals than you can imagine ruined because someone lost trust. As simple as that. The salesman fibbing to his wife on the phone in front of the customer. The contractor paying the 3rd party vendor a little extra to…
I think there's an important distinction to be made between lying to potential users and lying to friends, family, or business partners.
Morality is ultimately about results. I mean, it would be ok to lie in order to prevent the apocalypse, right?
Lying to users could be justified as a means to an end, if the end is sufficiently worthwhile. Lying to someone close to you has a much greater cost due to its potential to ruin your relationship, create lots of emotional pain, and end up causing a lot of collateral damage.
Things should work out as long as everybody is clear about where the line is: white lies to potential users -- maybe ok; white lies to somebody close to you -- not ok.