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I love this idea, but I'm not clear on the goal. Are you looking for feedback on the idea or are you only trying to improve the way you talk about the idea? If

I love this idea, but I'm not clear on the goal. Are you looking for feedback on the idea or are you only trying to improve the way you talk about the idea? If someone quickly understands what you're doing but thinks it sucks, did you succeed or fail? Once (if) I've succeeded in making myself clear, I think I might trying asking explicitly what the 'pitchee' thinks is wrong or could go wrong with the idea. Oftentimes people need to be prompted to give negative feedback. To friends I just say, "What sucks about this idea?" Finally, people are surprisingly game for things that are out of the ordinary. I don't think you need to lie about what you're doing so long as you're friendly and clear. "Hi, I'm Joshua Paine. I'm working on an idea for a business, and I'd like to practice pitching it to you to get an outside opinion. I'm not trying to sell you anything, I'd just like your thoughts." Or something like that.

sgrove 18y ago
Good feedback. We'll be going back out for the second round soon, so I'll try it without any subterfuge, and update the post with the results. My previous experience tells me people usually take pretty kindly to an student, but I'm all for mixing it up. As for the results, I'm not too worried that the pitchee likes/dislikes the idea. It's all warm fuzzies if they do, and of course the more people you can interest with a pitch the btter, but they're not likely your target market. It's more important to simply watch their face for emotional changes (especially boredom) and gauge your ability from that. Also, bringing your cofounders and critical friends along is where the real negative feedback comes from. People generally aren't going to be familiar with your domain to give much meaningful commentary, but your cofounders are imagining you pitching to investors or (in our case) potential users at a entrepreneur's meetup. With that context in mind, their feedback is golden.

sgrove 18y ago

Good feedback. We'll be going back out for the second round soon, so I'll try it without any subterfuge, and update the post with the results. My previous experience tells me people usually take pretty kindly to an student, but I'm all for mixing it up. As for the results, I'm not too worried that the pitchee likes/dislikes the idea. It's all warm fuzzies if they do, and of course the more people you can interest with a pitch the btter, but they're not likely your target market. It's more important to simply watch their face for emotional changes (especially boredom) and gauge your ability from that. Also, bringing your cofounders and critical friends along is where the real negative feedback comes from. People generally aren't going to be familiar with your domain to give much meaningful commentary, but your cofounders are imagining you pitching to investors or (in our case) potential users at a entrepreneur's meetup. With that context in mind, their feedback is golden.