Your idea Sucks!

Having recently moved up to Sydney from Melbourne to take on a new opportunity, one of the first ports of call on my list was visiting arguably Australia’s largest start-up conference, Sydstart. 

Now you have probably seen and read enough about this landmark event so I won’t bother you with the details, but one observation I will make is that startup folk, be it in Melbourne or Sydney, are a really friendly bunch.

I mean, it doesn’t matter how bad or doomed to fail your idea is, we exchange handshakes, smile politely and proceed with predictable niceties such as the tried and true “so what are you working on?”, “really…hmm, that’s interesting, tell me more” and after a few minutes of repetitive and more times than not, uninspiring idle chit chat, we exchange business cards, wish each other all the best with our respective endeavors and move on to the next visible approachable person to do it all again!

Like a single bloke at a bar playing the numbers game, we do this in vain, hoping that we will come across a co-founder, a strategic partner, a developer, an investor or a lead to any of the aforementioned.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This is what it’s all about. Networking, exchanging ideas and gaining a different perspective. If I didn’t believe in the merit of it I would not attend such events.

However, what seems all too obvious is that most folk are too quick to seek out those relationships at the expense of honesty. We are reluctant to tell our new friend what we really think about their idea and provide some insight or a different perspective that may not be easy on the ears.

Are we better people for it? Probably not. Our talents should be spent on scalable ideas that will generate revenue, jobs and make a difference.

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

Bluechilli, the fledgling start-up incubator, received 2,664 pitches in 2012 while less than 1% made it to the development stage. There are numerous reasons for this but I’m willing to bet that more often than not, ideas fell slightly short of the mark. 

We aren’t the judge, jury and executioner – whatever we say won’t result in our new friend dropping everything right there and then and joining the Army, but it may give them something to think about. And thinking about your concept objectively is a lot better than living with sparkling elves on Mars, sipping mushy shakes while playing Super Mario Bros 3.

Oh so you quit your job and mortgaged your house to make a yoga app did you? How is that app any different to the hundreds of yoga apps in the iTunes store not making any money? No it’s not interesting. It’s stupid. Say something. But be nice about it.

Objectively break down the idea, not the person.