21 ms·

Your friends are lying to you. For $10, I wont.

370 points by goodoldboys 12y ago

readme 12y ago
Hey just gonna "tell it like it is" There is already an army of unpaid critics working around the clock on HN and Reddit.
boykin 12y ago
You should put an option when people ask a question to allow you to post it on your public website. It would be interesting and might attract more traffic to your site.
dxbydt 12y ago
Honest question - Is there like a useful version of this for ,you know, hard CS/ML/... questions. Like what ML model should I use for training this dataset, & some advice on hyperparameter tuning ? That sort of thing. There's a void between the completely free stackoverflow ( even with bounty ) and an odesk. Some in-between system where you pay $10 for 5 minutes of legit expert advice. Anybody ?
- chetanahuja 12y ago
  We used to have completely free "brutally honest" feedback from legit experts on comp.xxxx newsgroups in their heyday. The eternal september killed it forever.
- dkyc 12y ago
  I think you could look at short term consulting services like AirPair (recent YC company) or HackHands- they offer on demand video/audio calls with specialists that can help with specific technological problems. OP's service is more about absolute honesty than specific knowledge.
- SonOfLilit 12y ago
  http://www.codementor.io/ http://www.codementor.io/, although you'll probably end up paying $30 for 15 minutes, since 5 minutes aren't enough to explain your question. I saw it here, and I've been mentoring there quite successfully, although I haven't had any clients with really advanced questions yet, only beginners. I am looking forward to helping people with hard design issues.
  - allsystemsgo 12y ago
    You probably won't get hard design issues there.
- im3w1l 12y ago
  I'd talk to these people. They say they do consultancy http://caffe.berkeleyvision.org/#contacting-us http://caffe.berkeleyvision.org/#contacting-us
- QuasiAlon 12y ago
  Google helpouts too
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
avens19 12y ago
This is awesome, I love it. I want to try it but don't know what to ask
- kingakim 12y ago
  You don't think $10 for someone's opinion is a tad pricey?
  - davewasthere 12y ago
    That's what, the cost of a drink (a pricey drink, but nonetheless)... It's not bad value. For a well thought out, written opinion...
  - Lifescape 12y ago
    Asking him to be brutally honest about himself. I like it.
    - poissonpie 12y ago
      For some strange reason, I want to get the him to review the website from this submission https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8440057 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8440057 and then vice versa....
  - icefox 12y ago
    Or it could be too cheap, maybe charging $99 is the way to go.
    - bcohen5055 12y ago
      It works for consultants
      - DonHopkins 12y ago
        Q: What's the difference between a contractor and a consultant? A: A contractor knows the difference.
jawns 12y ago
I can get brutal honesty on Reddit for free. (And polite honesty, also for free, from Dear Abby.)
- icefox 12y ago
  But will it be a thoughtful, well written response?
  - serf 12y ago
    exactly what kind of thoughtful, well written response can I expect from the landing page's example question of "Am I socially awkward?" or "Why isn't she texting me back?" What kind of a stranger could give me actual answers to those questions? I can imagine a few good (applicable) answers to someone who'd pay ten dollars to email someone those questions... but I can't imagine any answers that are actually worth than ten bucks.
  - zamalek 12y ago
    > But will it be a thoughtful, well written response? /r/subredditdrama It's full of self-righteous people who enjoy watching other people fight. On the other hand, they tend to be people who are less interested in fighting and rather enjoy engaging conversation. I've had some brilliant belief-altering discussions in there, and most importantly, situations where both parties "respectfully agree to disagree." You just have to find the sweet spots in Reddit - it takes a fair amount of participation to finds those places (but SRD is a good start).
    - JonTarg 12y ago
      Holy shit, of all the subs you could've mentioned. SRD is incredibly biased in certain topics, they ALWAYS brigade the subs they are against, and have the most awful crowd of the site. Seriously, the whole metasphere is incredibly toxic.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- 12y ago
LeoPanthera 12y ago
Angry man: WHADDAYOU WANT? Man: Well, Well, I was told outside that... Angry man: DON'T GIVE ME THAT, YOU SNOTTY-FACED HEAP OF PARROT DROPPINGS! Man: What? A: SHUT YOUR FESTERING GOB, YOU TIT! YOUR TYPE MAKES ME PUKE! YOU VACUOUS TOFFEE-NOSED MALODOROUS PERVERT!!! M: Yes, but I came here for an argument!! A: OH! Oh! I'm sorry! This is abuse! M: Oh! Oh I see! A: Aha! No, you want room 12A, next door. M: Oh...Sorry... A: Not at all! A: (under his breath) stupid git.
- gizmo686 12y ago
  Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y
- DonHopkins 12y ago
  And I always thought gobutit was one word -- I've been saying it wrong all these years! I still think it would be a great name for a source code control system, though.
minimaxir 12y ago
50 points in 13 minutes without setting off the anti spam detector? Impressive. I still believe this is vote manipulation, though.
- chrisseaton 12y ago
  Maybe he just has 34 friends online right now and has asked them to up vote? Does that count as manipulation?
  - minimaxir 12y ago
    YES. Normally, Hacker News detects and penalizes stupid upvote rigging. I'm curious how the OP bypassed it at such a scale.
    - dang 12y ago
      Me too. I've gone over the data and if he's figured anything out, it's plumb fooled me. Actually, judging by the ridiculous number of flags the post has also gotten, I think he just touched a nerve.
  - eli 12y ago
    Yeah, typically it would. Ya know the other possibility is it is legitimately getting voted up.
  - nathancahill 12y ago
    Yes. From the FAQ: > Can I ask people to upvote my submission? > No. Users should vote for a story because it's intellectually interesting, not because someone is promoting it. > When the software detects a voting ring, it penalizes the post. Accounts that vote like this eventually get their votes ignored.
- goodoldboys 12y ago
  Creator here - no vote manipulation. In fact, I don't actually know anyone who has a hacker news account, believe it or not. Just an intriguing title I suppose?
Hermel 12y ago
And thanks to the psychological effect of effort justification, you will even like what he says.
tyler_ball 12y ago
what if I give him some feedback for free?
pcrh 12y ago
It reminds me of this: (´･ω･`) The Saga of Denko and Her Stalker. http://vgperson.tumblr.com/post/21533650696/help-the-girl-i-like-wont-respond-to-my-emails http://vgperson.tumblr.com/post/21533650696/help-the-girl-i-...
- warkdarrior 12y ago
  Bastard! 2 hours later and I'm still reading that...
buckbova 12y ago
Shallow responses to shallow questions for $10? SOLD!
karanbhangui 12y ago
Since this is a product over email, would be less friction to support payments over Square Cash. Just ask the question and cc cash@square.com. No need to visit the website and can be done from mobile easily :)
- goodoldboys 12y ago
  Wasn't aware of this - thanks. Seems like a good fit.
krapp 12y ago
The only thing he should be telling people willing to pay for his opinion on anything is "sucker."
zupreme 12y ago
I actually think this is a great idea. It's like a focus group of one (and we all know focus groups are big business). I look forward to hearing how this goes for you.
w4 12y ago
So you watched the Ethan app go viral yesterday too, huh? For those that missed it: http://www.producthunt.com/posts/ethan http://www.producthunt.com/posts/ethan and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8434045 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8434045
7Figures2Commas 12y ago
> I'm Jordan, a 28 year old software developer living in California. I've always been direct and never had a problem telling it like it is. I have a wide variety of interests outside of work that include Finance, Men's Fashion, Diet/Nutrition, Weightlifting, Sports, Travel, Music, and countless other topics. Brutal honesty: nothing here leads me to believe that Jordan's feedback is any more useful than the feedback of a random person on the street. The fact that Jordan is only charging $10 and hasn't focused his offering on an area of interest where he has demonstrable experience and expertise leads me to believe that Jordan himself doesn't think his feedback is very valuable.
- alukima 12y ago
  If anything he's in a bit of a bubble based on his age, location and interests. If I pay for honest feedback I'd like to get it from someone who is not exactly like me.
  - tripzilch 12y ago
    Preferably someone much older, life experience seems like a pretty good indicator to me.
  - dllthomas 12y ago
    Well, that depends on my goals for the specific feedback. If I want to know how to get a good reaction from people in bubble X, then asking someone in the bubble makes sense. Asking someone further is valuable for different reasons.
- bhc 12y ago
  That self-description and his picture (of himself drinking beer out of a bottle at a bar) gave me second thought about his ability to give an advice that's different than one that would be dispensed by a typical 20-something 'bro' working in IT.
  - JonTarg 12y ago
    > bro And your whole assumption gives me the impression that you are a ridiculously superficial person.
oimaz 12y ago
Is this a joke?
- bratsche 12y ago
  Send him $10 and he'll answer that question for you!
  - dblacc 12y ago
    >Nope, not a joke. no need..
xamolxix 12y ago
Nice idea! Some (all?) sample questions can be answered with yes or no. I know that you mention a conversation at the top but you might want to make it a bit more clear that your feedback will be more than yes or no.
- dllthomas 12y ago
  Clearer than "There will be no one word answers - I'll make sure to elaborate and make my opinion clear."?
  - xamolxix 12y ago
    No that's clear enough. I must have missed it. sorry.
eli 12y ago
If you focused it just on reviewing websites, it would basically be a weak and relatively expensive version of http://peek.usertesting.com/ http://peek.usertesting.com/
grizzles 12y ago
Interesting...I was thinking about starting a site called comfortinglies.io, where I'll tell you how wonderful you are, how it's all going to be ok, etc. Maybe we could swap links?
- DonHopkins 12y ago
  Siri should implement a service based on Mad Magazine's "Don Martin's Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions".
- rcavezza 12y ago
  Something like awesomenessreminders.com?
java-man 12y ago
Q1: what are your bank account credentials?
lorddoig 12y ago
I would totally use this if the guy running it was closer to robot than human. A highly logical walkthrough of whatever problem I present is something I would value immensely, as I think anyone else who's watched any sci-fi films with all-knowing, oracle-like talking computers would. But I don't think this is a problem that can be solved by ordinary people, and AI is nowhere close yet. Perhaps there's room in the world for Psychopaths-as-a-Service.
- sounds 12y ago
  Perhaps you are looking for Spock-as-a-Service?
  - lorddoig 12y ago
    Exactly
java-man 12y ago
Are you really a head of Kwik-E-Mart?
DubiousPusher 12y ago
Not saying this is the case but if this guy is really thoughtful and insightful, then why not. The economics might not make a ton of sense. A thoughtful reply to a difficult question takes at least 15-20 minutes to compose. That's about $30-$40 an hour. You can make better wages as a counselor in private practice.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
lazyant 12y ago
Paid version of "Nathan"
- w4 12y ago
  > Paid version of "Nathan" You mean "Ethan": http://www.textethan.com/ http://www.textethan.com/
  - cheepin 12y ago
    He's probably referring to Nathan for You, a recent comedyish show[0], though 'Ethan' seems like an interesting app. Have you tried it? [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_For_You http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_For_You
erikb 12y ago
This is a ridiculously awesome business idea. Either you'll make millions or nothing with that. But the costs aren't that high, and at least the buzz can be used for something else. Good luck!
- guiomie 12y ago
  He would have to respond to a lot of messages (100 000) to reach a million.
  - serf 12y ago
    or one. Question: "Would you like a million dollars?" "Thoughtful reply": "Yes."
  - notatoad 12y ago
    That's the thing about business ideas where revenue is directly tied to the work you have to do: scaling is super easy. getting more questions than you can handle by yourself? hire some friends to help.
    - pbhjpbhj 12y ago
      >"After you pay $10, I'll email you to start the conversation. You then share whatever it is you're looking for feedback on, and I'll tell you exactly how I feel about it. Most submissions are handled within a few hours, but some might take up to a few days. All submissions are completely private." // Assuming he is an honest actor in this process he can't share your submission with anyone as then they wouldn't be private. It is specified that it is he, Jordan, who will email you, he will say how he feels. It could have been set up differently to allow for scaling but part of the drawn I think is that it's a real, named and identifiable, individual that you are contacting. Of course "Jordan" could be a made up person and this could be a way to gather information for social manipulation or straight-out blackmail, but you know ...
      - jtheory 12y ago
        Presumably he'd update that bit of text as part of expanding.
suyash 12y ago
Idea Fail, Internet's collective intelligence can do this better than 1 person plus these website are free to use: 1. UX, Design: Dribble, Behance 2. Code : Stack Overflow 3. High Level Architecture questions: Stack Exchange 4. Business Idea etc : HN, Reddit, Quora 5. Miscellaneous other questions: HN, Reddit, Quora etc
- themodelplumber 12y ago
  If he's in your target audience it could be $10 very well spent. He's not in mine; it was helpful to see the rundown on his background.
- DonHopkins 12y ago
  And of course the best way to get a detailed informative reply from an expert for free is to post an incorrect answer, and then get your ass flamed off and handed to you on a platter for being wrong.
  - jtheory 12y ago
    His name has just vanished from my head... but there's a famous chef whose secret trick for finding the best restaurants in a city he's visiting is to locate the most active community discussing food online, and post a comment saying how much he liked (random restaurant here) in that city. Then just scan through the flood of indignant response/corrections.
Xyik 12y ago
Looks like we got more brutal honesty from the comments than your site.
oskarth 12y ago
Good stuff! I had an extremely similar idea a while ago: 2. Brutal Outfit Advice Pay to get brutally honest feedback on your outfit. Give commission to (vetted) critics. Alternative name: What Would You Think? (http://startupideas.posthaven.com/2-brutal-outfit-advice http://startupideas.posthaven.com/2-brutal-outfit-advice - now defunct blog) Good to see someone do executing on it. Good luck!
norseboar 12y ago
Does this remind anybody else of: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1993/05/26 http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1993/05/26
- norseboar 12y ago
  also relevant: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/06/30 http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/06/30
benatkin 12y ago
At the very least he is sure to make back the cost of the io domain.
dicroce 12y ago
Weightlifting? Is this guy an actual "brogrammer"?
tokenadult 12y ago
This is actually an intriguing business idea. I believe that most of the upvotes the submission is getting here are genuine expressions of interest in a radically different idea. (It's also fun to make snarky comments about this submission.) I won't be snarky here, but will suggest a news story of related interest. Journalist A. J. Jacobs turned on his full sense of humor as well as his honesty when he wrote a story for Esquire magazine in 2007 about the "radical honesty" movement. The story's title gets him started: "I Think You're Fat."[1] When I read this story the first time, right after it was published, I laughed out loud and immediately shared it with my favorite online group of friends (this was pre-Facebook, for me). I shared it with a new group of friends this summer, and found out that they like the story too. Try it. I think you'll like it. A guy who could take the business idea proposed in this thread and execute it with as much humor as A. J. Jacobs could become a millionaire. [1] http://www.esquire.com/features/honesty0707 http://www.esquire.com/features/honesty0707
- zamalek 12y ago
  You would be surprised how often you just... lie. Even if it's something unimportant, or a story that doesn't exist. You can lie about the most meaningless things. If you pay attention to your lying you will be horrified how often you do it, and how pointless the things you lie about are. I guess I form part of this "radical honesty" movement. Once you learn to trick your mind out of lying it's so refreshing. Lying is extremely stressful, I have no idea why we have a natural tendency to employ it. Instead of worrying if my wife finds out I've lied about drinking with colleagues ("I'm working late"), I know that I can ask her to fetch me if I go over the limit. Although, there's a difference between being honest and being a dick.
- downandout 12y ago
  There was a pretty entertaining Ricky Gervais movie called The Invention of Lying in which everyone on earth is physically incapable of lying, save one. Before you ask for ubiquitous radical honesty, watch it :). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfmXodInxTU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfmXodInxTU
  - 12y ago
Dewie 12y ago
> I've always been direct and never had a problem telling it like it is. I know that type.
- ZenoArrow 12y ago
  Yes, generally rude whilst ignoring the consequences (honesty should not be used as a 'get out of jail free' card).
mlangdon 12y ago
He forgot "German Language capitalization Rules" among his interests.
beachstartup 12y ago
this is basically what management consulting firms do, except for a million times more money.
acpk 12y ago
No money back guarantee?
- kunkelast 12y ago
  good point :)
acpk 12y ago
No money back guarantee?
27182818284 12y ago
Whatever happened to feedbackarmy.com?
alxdistill 12y ago
Okay. I did it, paid my $10 bucks and waiting for an email. I actually run a much more expensive, competing service: http://talkshopwithus.com http://talkshopwithus.com
- alxdistill 12y ago
  Here's Jordan's first email: ----------------------------- Hey there, Thanks for buying Brutal Honesty. What can I help you with? Ask away. Cheers Jordan ----------------------------- And then this is my reply: ----------------------------- Hi Jordan, So I was hoping to get your honest opinion on a business idea I'm working on. It's a bit similar to your business I guess. Here's our site: http://talkshopwithus.com http://talkshopwithus.com Let me know if you think this seems like total bullshit, or if it's cool. Thanks! -Alex
  - hashtree 12y ago
    Here is a free one: The "See More Creatives" link 404s hitting against makers.html
- chrismorgan 12y ago
  On your site, in viewports less than 768px wide, the header background image disappears, leaving a light background that makes the text very difficult to read. The image should probably not disappear, and the background-color should also be changed to something dark like the image, so that in case the image doesn’t load the text will still be legible.
  - alxdistill 12y ago
    Thanks for catching that!
- winslow 12y ago
  Interesting. Will you be sharing your email/conversation with him?
  - 12y ago
feldir 12y ago
We have a different perception of what a friend is, brutalhonesty.io.
genix1212 12y ago
love the bitcoin acceptance
clamprecht 12y ago
For those old enough to remember 1-900 phone numbers, there used to be 1-900-4INSULT (or something like this) that you called and paid $10. The person who answered would just insult you until you couldn't take it anymore. This reminds me of that.
goodoldboys 12y ago
Hey everyone - thanks for the feedback. I wasn't sure how the response would be but it's been mostly positive so far. I came up with the idea because I wanted to use such a service, but when I couldn't find anything I figured I'd create it and thought it would be fun. Most importantly I want to help people out - the $10 is so I can (somewhat) justify it from a time perspective. So far it turns out I'm spending a lot of time on each request, but that's fine because I'm enjoying it. I'm really appreciating the snark as well!
- highiquser 12y ago
  The idea is terrible because you lack the qualifications to answer questions outside if your own personal expertise (whatever that may be). Second, assuming you get questions, you will be working at $20-10/hour. Not much money. So yeah, two thumbs down. awful idea
  - jczhang 12y ago
    Dude, what a troll comment.
    - newobj 12y ago
      Brutal honesty. Dot io.
      - mjnaus 12y ago
        Well, this whole thing IS about being honest...
    - chromedude 12y ago
      Well at least he's got a high IQ =P
  - nopar8 12y ago
    The comment is terrible because you lack the qualifications to comment outside if your own personal expertise (whatever that may be). Second, assuming you get to comment, you will be working for free. Not much money. So yeah, two thumbs down. awful comment See what I did there :P
derekja 12y ago
I would have done it on Fiverr or something so that payment was easy. Actually that could be kinda fun! Here's mine... https://www.fiverr.com/s/6e795u https://www.fiverr.com/s/6e795u
- anonfunction 12y ago
  Any takers yet?
unknownBits 12y ago
I give you $10 when you give me your credit card nr, so I can take $20 from you if your answer is not satisfying for me. The $10 for me is for my time wasted on you.. Dude, the fact you propose this seriously, gives me the only answer I need from you.
jerguismi 12y ago
Damn, I just paid $10 in Bitcoin and I'm not sure if the checkout works. The only thing I was asked was my email address, and I don't see anything in my inbox. Well, I hope they deliver.
- RainSunshine 12y ago
  Give it a bit of time. He is going to reply personally and probably got dozens of questions. It might take a day to reply to them all.
  - hnha 12y ago
    So, who are you, sockpuppet?
    - RainSunshine 12y ago
      This site doesn't have a way to report troll posts like yours? Shame. Doubt I will make it a habit to visit here.
jtheory 12y ago
I, personally, cannot imagine any question to which I would get a more valuable answer from a 28-year-old software engineer in California interested in finance, men's fashion and weightlifting than I would get from my wife, family, friends and peers -- people who know me; whose lives actually overlap with mine in some way. What is "telling it like it is" if you don't share the same context? How likely is it he can pick up on something you should really know (like: "you interrupt women more often than you do men") if all he knows about you is what you've told him? I imagine myself paying $10 and asking "hey, what do you think of my outfit tonight?" And he would kindly inform me that my chances of scoring (or whatever they call it these days) wearing these sandals, hiking pants (pull these zippers and they become shorts!) and grey kinda stretched-out long-sleeve t-shirt are next to zero. But my Friday night activity was going out with my wife, toddler & 5-year-old to have dinner with a bunch of retired English expats in the middle of nowhere in central France. I sat next to a guy who was a large-scale industrial engineer back in the 70s -- extracting helium & natural gas in communist Poland, in Iran when the Shah fell... And my little ones had great fun racing around and then choosing the winning tickets for the lottery. But: there are plenty of people in this world (or at least in the more Californian parts of this world) who share his particular little slice of the human experience, who are a bit less far along than he is, perhaps, in figuring out who they are and who they want to be, and who have not yet built any meaningful friendships. (It seems like it should go without saying: if you have built a meaningful relationship with someone who cares about you and has a bit of wisdom, they will find a way to tell you the things you need to know with no brutality required. You will also do this for them.)
- jerguismi 12y ago
  Who the fuck cares if you don't see the need. It is a niche product, like an impulse buy in a supermarket. I don't see need for 99% of the crap what is sold in a dollar store, but the dollar store is still a quite solid business. That said, I just bought my advice, paid but I still don't see email. Damn.
  - goodoldboys 12y ago
    Sorry about that - this got popular faster than I thought it would! Did you use paypal or bitcoin? I think I'm having issues with Coinbase at the moment. Could you send me an email directly at brutalhonestyio@gmail.com? I'll get to yours next :)
no_future 12y ago
Is this some kind of ironic/tongue-in-cheek thing? I feel like some of the people in this thread are taking it too seriously.
kitwalker12 12y ago
I can see the headlines... Silicon Valley capitalizes on "penny for your thoughts"
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
- jerguismi 12y ago
  OK. I'm not associated with the service, but as I'm in tough spot in my business, I'm looking for some advice. Considering that usually the going rate for the people I employ is something like $50 to $150, $10 for advice seems quite cheap. For your arguments: 1. Why would I care about the heading? I don't care if the guy is cheap or not, I just want honest, brutal feedback for once. 2. Well the guy has focus, I prefer buying from a guy that invests in the thing he does instead of secondary thing like a logo. 3. Again, who cares? ... yadda yadda. In this case the website look doesn't matter, but the copy.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - aikah 12y ago
    > OK. I'm not associated with the service, but as I'm in tough spot in my business, I'm looking for some advice. > $10 for advice seems quite cheap. Do you really think you'll get a real sound advice for 10$ dollars?you're kidding yourself. On the other hand,the guy should really sell some book on how to rip off people of 10$ dollars without doing anything valuable,because it seems there are potential clients here. If you're desperate about your business,consult a lawyer or a financial adviser.Yes it's expensive,but better spend 10 minutes with someone that has serious credentials than losing 10 bucks from a scammer.
hammock 12y ago
Reminds me of http://www.assholeconsulting.com/ http://www.assholeconsulting.com/
unknownBits 12y ago
The LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This site is for entertainment purposes only. Stupidity rules for ever.. ..the people who do it, and the people who buy it.. Please, send your valuable money to the people suffering real poverty, you might save some children from sexual abuse and raise your soul.
_asciiker_ 12y ago
I get all my brutal & honest feedback from IRC channels... for free.
tenderlove 12y ago
I'm disappointed there are no samples.
doah78 12y ago
No his landing page does not look "professsional"
egypturnash 12y ago
I don't know why, but "Pay with Bitcoin" at the bottom made me laugh. I think it's because that really just completes the picture of a certain sort of kinda tactless bro who Has Lots Of Opinions.
Walkman 12y ago
I don't know what this guy is talking about. Maybe I'm lucky enough to have these friends, but this week I asked multiple friends and one person who I don't know that well about my current situation and they told me things like "You are really stupid you did that!" or "Get your shit together!", or "Do something already you idiot!". (Not joking or something, these were they actual, serious answers to me on the topic.) I don't know how could I get more honest opinion than these. Also I think your best friends care enough to tell you the truth, and your responsibility should be also to tell them if you care enough! Yes, sometimes it's hard. One of my best friend says me things all the time which hurt my feelings very badly, but he always adds "I don't say this because I want to hurt you, but because I want the best for you.". He shouldn't say that because I know his intent and he is one of my best friend for more than 10 years now, even though he is brutal. :) Another example when I complained years ago to another friend about something, she told me how I dare to feel that way, I should feel lucky, I have a lot of friends and that's just stupid to worry about something like what I told her. She shocked me with her opinion but the more I think about it, the more I think she was right and I never heard an opinion like that before. We were very good friends at the time also!
StronglyTyped 12y ago
Shit, I've been giving this away on facebook for free.
saltcookie 12y ago
how many of u actually paid this retard for a opinion. If non of u, why is he getting so many upvotes.
floatingatoll 12y ago
While the copyright attributes to "brutalhonesty.io" [1], the privacy policy [2] more accurately identifies this as a venture of "Warrior One". The only "Warrior One" I can locate is a coaching firm for lawyers, with no one named Jordan listed on their about page [3] as a member of staff. I've asked this Warrior One on Twitter [4] if they are the actual owner of the site, and will reply here if they respond. [1] which implies that either a DBA filing exists for that name, or no such name exists [2] "I reserve the right to transfer your personally identifiable information, as well as any other information, in connection with the sale or other disposition of all or part of Warrior One’s business, assets, or both." [3] http://www.warriorone.com/our-story/ http://www.warriorone.com/our-story/ [4] https://twitter.com/floatingatoll/status/520745627278270465 https://twitter.com/floatingatoll/status/520745627278270465
bikamonki 12y ago
Hahahaha only in California!
drawkbox 12y ago
This guy has turned Larry David's social assassin service into a business. I can see similar services popping up such as ask a New Yorker and ask a southie where people are real. Real opinions outside of high school may be marketable.
chayesfss 12y ago
Just ask a father in law
vishalzone2002 12y ago
I think its not about paying someone $10 for a review of an app.Instead the real deal should be to make someone pay $10 for some idea/app.
- vishalzone2002 12y ago
  and I think that is what he(brutally honest) is trying to do as well.
ramigb 12y ago
While this might be a good idea, but if you want the truth just post it to Reddit or Hacker News, those motherfuckers are brutal and won't take it easy on you, anyways, i wish you luck.
sturmeh 12y ago
If I wanted brutal honesty from my friends, I would ask them for it. If they're not being brutally honest with me, it's typically for a good reason, and they'll do it on request. I have no idea how a random software engineer on the other side of the world is going to be useful in regards to giving me brutally honest advice without seeing any perspective but my own (the only information he will have to go off is what I tell him).
jkaljundi 12y ago
So it's an online psychic. No idea if $10 is cheap or expensive for psychics.
yitchelle 12y ago
Why spend the $10 with brutalhonesty.io when you can just post your question on Ask HN? The way HN is going these days, your honest answers will be here within 24hrs!
- leepowers 12y ago
  Exactly. The Internet is full of people who have no problem openly and honestly calling it like they see it. Often cynically and viciously so.
freshflowers 12y ago
Must be a cultural thing. In the Netherlands, you can get that for free. #1 source of culture shock for Americans coming over here. "Did he just say that?"
leepowers 12y ago
Is (insert idea here) a good business/app/website idea? Would you pay (amount) for (product/app/service)? Do you like my app? (web/iOS only, for now) Does my landing page look professsional? Getting one guy's opinion about any of these things is anecdotal at best. It's not a comprehensive information source. And it would be foolish to use it in your decision making process. There's better ways to collect data: 1) Spend that $10 towards an adword campaign for a pre-launch signup page for you website/app idea. Maybe this guy won't sign up, but maybe a dozen, a hundred or a thousand other people will. Why waste your money on one data point? 2) Put the money to buying beer. Invite your friends and family over, get them liquored up a bit. I guarantee you'll hear a great deal of honest feedback. 3) Post on HN, reddit, slashdot or any other number of web sites where armchair cynics freely administer scathing advice.

370 points by goodoldboys 12y ago

Hey just gonna "tell it like it is" There is already an army of unpaid critics working around the clock on HN and Reddit.

boykin 12y ago

You should put an option when people ask a question to allow you to post it on your public website. It would be interesting and might attract more traffic to your site.

dxbydt 12y ago

Honest question - Is there like a useful version of this for ,you know, hard CS/ML/... questions. Like what ML model should I use for training this dataset, & some advice on hyperparameter tuning ? That sort of thing. There's a void between the completely free stackoverflow ( even with bounty ) and an odesk. Some in-between system where you pay $10 for 5 minutes of legit expert advice. Anybody ?

chetanahuja 12y ago
We used to have completely free "brutally honest" feedback from legit experts on comp.xxxx newsgroups in their heyday. The eternal september killed it forever.
dkyc 12y ago
I think you could look at short term consulting services like AirPair (recent YC company) or HackHands- they offer on demand video/audio calls with specialists that can help with specific technological problems. OP's service is more about absolute honesty than specific knowledge.
SonOfLilit 12y ago
http://www.codementor.io/ http://www.codementor.io/, although you'll probably end up paying $30 for 15 minutes, since 5 minutes aren't enough to explain your question. I saw it here, and I've been mentoring there quite successfully, although I haven't had any clients with really advanced questions yet, only beginners. I am looking forward to helping people with hard design issues.
- allsystemsgo 12y ago
  You probably won't get hard design issues there.
im3w1l 12y ago
I'd talk to these people. They say they do consultancy http://caffe.berkeleyvision.org/#contacting-us http://caffe.berkeleyvision.org/#contacting-us
QuasiAlon 12y ago
Google helpouts too

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

avens19 12y ago

This is awesome, I love it. I want to try it but don't know what to ask

kingakim 12y ago
You don't think $10 for someone's opinion is a tad pricey?
- davewasthere 12y ago
  That's what, the cost of a drink (a pricey drink, but nonetheless)... It's not bad value. For a well thought out, written opinion...
- Lifescape 12y ago
  Asking him to be brutally honest about himself. I like it.
  - poissonpie 12y ago
    For some strange reason, I want to get the him to review the website from this submission https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8440057 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8440057 and then vice versa....
- icefox 12y ago
  Or it could be too cheap, maybe charging $99 is the way to go.
  - bcohen5055 12y ago
    It works for consultants
    - DonHopkins 12y ago
      Q: What's the difference between a contractor and a consultant? A: A contractor knows the difference.

jawns 12y ago

I can get brutal honesty on Reddit for free. (And polite honesty, also for free, from Dear Abby.)

icefox 12y ago
But will it be a thoughtful, well written response?
- serf 12y ago
  exactly what kind of thoughtful, well written response can I expect from the landing page's example question of "Am I socially awkward?" or "Why isn't she texting me back?" What kind of a stranger could give me actual answers to those questions? I can imagine a few good (applicable) answers to someone who'd pay ten dollars to email someone those questions... but I can't imagine any answers that are actually worth than ten bucks.
- zamalek 12y ago
  > But will it be a thoughtful, well written response? /r/subredditdrama It's full of self-righteous people who enjoy watching other people fight. On the other hand, they tend to be people who are less interested in fighting and rather enjoy engaging conversation. I've had some brilliant belief-altering discussions in there, and most importantly, situations where both parties "respectfully agree to disagree." You just have to find the sweet spots in Reddit - it takes a fair amount of participation to finds those places (but SRD is a good start).
  - JonTarg 12y ago
    Holy shit, of all the subs you could've mentioned. SRD is incredibly biased in certain topics, they ALWAYS brigade the subs they are against, and have the most awful crowd of the site. Seriously, the whole metasphere is incredibly toxic.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
12y ago

LeoPanthera 12y ago

Angry man: WHADDAYOU WANT? Man: Well, Well, I was told outside that... Angry man: DON'T GIVE ME THAT, YOU SNOTTY-FACED HEAP OF PARROT DROPPINGS! Man: What? A: SHUT YOUR FESTERING GOB, YOU TIT! YOUR TYPE MAKES ME PUKE! YOU VACUOUS TOFFEE-NOSED MALODOROUS PERVERT!!! M: Yes, but I came here for an argument!! A: OH! Oh! I'm sorry! This is abuse! M: Oh! Oh I see! A: Aha! No, you want room 12A, next door. M: Oh...Sorry... A: Not at all! A: (under his breath) stupid git.

gizmo686 12y ago
Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y
DonHopkins 12y ago
And I always thought gobutit was one word -- I've been saying it wrong all these years! I still think it would be a great name for a source code control system, though.

minimaxir 12y ago

50 points in 13 minutes without setting off the anti spam detector? Impressive. I still believe this is vote manipulation, though.

chrisseaton 12y ago
Maybe he just has 34 friends online right now and has asked them to up vote? Does that count as manipulation?
- minimaxir 12y ago
  YES. Normally, Hacker News detects and penalizes stupid upvote rigging. I'm curious how the OP bypassed it at such a scale.
  - dang 12y ago
    Me too. I've gone over the data and if he's figured anything out, it's plumb fooled me. Actually, judging by the ridiculous number of flags the post has also gotten, I think he just touched a nerve.
- eli 12y ago
  Yeah, typically it would. Ya know the other possibility is it is legitimately getting voted up.
- nathancahill 12y ago
  Yes. From the FAQ: > Can I ask people to upvote my submission? > No. Users should vote for a story because it's intellectually interesting, not because someone is promoting it. > When the software detects a voting ring, it penalizes the post. Accounts that vote like this eventually get their votes ignored.
goodoldboys 12y ago
Creator here - no vote manipulation. In fact, I don't actually know anyone who has a hacker news account, believe it or not. Just an intriguing title I suppose?

Hermel 12y ago

And thanks to the psychological effect of effort justification, you will even like what he says.

tyler_ball 12y ago

what if I give him some feedback for free?

pcrh 12y ago

It reminds me of this: (´･ω･`) The Saga of Denko and Her Stalker. http://vgperson.tumblr.com/post/21533650696/help-the-girl-i-like-wont-respond-to-my-emails http://vgperson.tumblr.com/post/21533650696/help-the-girl-i-...

warkdarrior 12y ago
Bastard! 2 hours later and I'm still reading that...

buckbova 12y ago

Shallow responses to shallow questions for $10? SOLD!

karanbhangui 12y ago

Since this is a product over email, would be less friction to support payments over Square Cash. Just ask the question and cc cash@square.com. No need to visit the website and can be done from mobile easily :)

goodoldboys 12y ago
Wasn't aware of this - thanks. Seems like a good fit.

krapp 12y ago

The only thing he should be telling people willing to pay for his opinion on anything is "sucker."

zupreme 12y ago

I actually think this is a great idea. It's like a focus group of one (and we all know focus groups are big business). I look forward to hearing how this goes for you.

w4 12y ago

So you watched the Ethan app go viral yesterday too, huh? For those that missed it: http://www.producthunt.com/posts/ethan http://www.producthunt.com/posts/ethan and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8434045 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8434045

7Figures2Commas 12y ago

> I'm Jordan, a 28 year old software developer living in California. I've always been direct and never had a problem telling it like it is. I have a wide variety of interests outside of work that include Finance, Men's Fashion, Diet/Nutrition, Weightlifting, Sports, Travel, Music, and countless other topics. Brutal honesty: nothing here leads me to believe that Jordan's feedback is any more useful than the feedback of a random person on the street. The fact that Jordan is only charging $10 and hasn't focused his offering on an area of interest where he has demonstrable experience and expertise leads me to believe that Jordan himself doesn't think his feedback is very valuable.

alukima 12y ago
If anything he's in a bit of a bubble based on his age, location and interests. If I pay for honest feedback I'd like to get it from someone who is not exactly like me.
- tripzilch 12y ago
  Preferably someone much older, life experience seems like a pretty good indicator to me.
- dllthomas 12y ago
  Well, that depends on my goals for the specific feedback. If I want to know how to get a good reaction from people in bubble X, then asking someone in the bubble makes sense. Asking someone further is valuable for different reasons.
bhc 12y ago
That self-description and his picture (of himself drinking beer out of a bottle at a bar) gave me second thought about his ability to give an advice that's different than one that would be dispensed by a typical 20-something 'bro' working in IT.
- JonTarg 12y ago
  > bro And your whole assumption gives me the impression that you are a ridiculously superficial person.

oimaz 12y ago

Is this a joke?

bratsche 12y ago
Send him $10 and he'll answer that question for you!
- dblacc 12y ago
  >Nope, not a joke. no need..

xamolxix 12y ago

Nice idea! Some (all?) sample questions can be answered with yes or no. I know that you mention a conversation at the top but you might want to make it a bit more clear that your feedback will be more than yes or no.

dllthomas 12y ago
Clearer than "There will be no one word answers - I'll make sure to elaborate and make my opinion clear."?
- xamolxix 12y ago
  No that's clear enough. I must have missed it. sorry.

eli 12y ago

If you focused it just on reviewing websites, it would basically be a weak and relatively expensive version of http://peek.usertesting.com/ http://peek.usertesting.com/

grizzles 12y ago

Interesting...I was thinking about starting a site called comfortinglies.io, where I'll tell you how wonderful you are, how it's all going to be ok, etc. Maybe we could swap links?

DonHopkins 12y ago
Siri should implement a service based on Mad Magazine's "Don Martin's Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions".
rcavezza 12y ago
Something like awesomenessreminders.com?

java-man 12y ago

Q1: what are your bank account credentials?

lorddoig 12y ago

I would totally use this if the guy running it was closer to robot than human. A highly logical walkthrough of whatever problem I present is something I would value immensely, as I think anyone else who's watched any sci-fi films with all-knowing, oracle-like talking computers would. But I don't think this is a problem that can be solved by ordinary people, and AI is nowhere close yet. Perhaps there's room in the world for Psychopaths-as-a-Service.

sounds 12y ago
Perhaps you are looking for Spock-as-a-Service?
- lorddoig 12y ago
  Exactly

java-man 12y ago

Are you really a head of Kwik-E-Mart?

DubiousPusher 12y ago

Not saying this is the case but if this guy is really thoughtful and insightful, then why not. The economics might not make a ton of sense. A thoughtful reply to a difficult question takes at least 15-20 minutes to compose. That's about $30-$40 an hour. You can make better wages as a counselor in private practice.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

lazyant 12y ago

Paid version of "Nathan"

w4 12y ago
> Paid version of "Nathan" You mean "Ethan": http://www.textethan.com/ http://www.textethan.com/
- cheepin 12y ago
  He's probably referring to Nathan for You, a recent comedyish show[0], though 'Ethan' seems like an interesting app. Have you tried it? [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_For_You http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_For_You

erikb 12y ago

This is a ridiculously awesome business idea. Either you'll make millions or nothing with that. But the costs aren't that high, and at least the buzz can be used for something else. Good luck!

guiomie 12y ago
He would have to respond to a lot of messages (100 000) to reach a million.
- serf 12y ago
  or one. Question: "Would you like a million dollars?" "Thoughtful reply": "Yes."
- notatoad 12y ago
  That's the thing about business ideas where revenue is directly tied to the work you have to do: scaling is super easy. getting more questions than you can handle by yourself? hire some friends to help.
  - pbhjpbhj 12y ago
    >"After you pay $10, I'll email you to start the conversation. You then share whatever it is you're looking for feedback on, and I'll tell you exactly how I feel about it. Most submissions are handled within a few hours, but some might take up to a few days. All submissions are completely private." // Assuming he is an honest actor in this process he can't share your submission with anyone as then they wouldn't be private. It is specified that it is he, Jordan, who will email you, he will say how he feels. It could have been set up differently to allow for scaling but part of the drawn I think is that it's a real, named and identifiable, individual that you are contacting. Of course "Jordan" could be a made up person and this could be a way to gather information for social manipulation or straight-out blackmail, but you know ...
    - jtheory 12y ago
      Presumably he'd update that bit of text as part of expanding.

suyash 12y ago

Idea Fail, Internet's collective intelligence can do this better than 1 person plus these website are free to use: 1. UX, Design: Dribble, Behance 2. Code : Stack Overflow 3. High Level Architecture questions: Stack Exchange 4. Business Idea etc : HN, Reddit, Quora 5. Miscellaneous other questions: HN, Reddit, Quora etc

themodelplumber 12y ago
If he's in your target audience it could be $10 very well spent. He's not in mine; it was helpful to see the rundown on his background.
DonHopkins 12y ago
And of course the best way to get a detailed informative reply from an expert for free is to post an incorrect answer, and then get your ass flamed off and handed to you on a platter for being wrong.
- jtheory 12y ago
  His name has just vanished from my head... but there's a famous chef whose secret trick for finding the best restaurants in a city he's visiting is to locate the most active community discussing food online, and post a comment saying how much he liked (random restaurant here) in that city. Then just scan through the flood of indignant response/corrections.

Xyik 12y ago

Looks like we got more brutal honesty from the comments than your site.

oskarth 12y ago

Good stuff! I had an extremely similar idea a while ago: 2. Brutal Outfit Advice Pay to get brutally honest feedback on your outfit. Give commission to (vetted) critics. Alternative name: What Would You Think? (http://startupideas.posthaven.com/2-brutal-outfit-advice http://startupideas.posthaven.com/2-brutal-outfit-advice - now defunct blog) Good to see someone do executing on it. Good luck!

norseboar 12y ago

Does this remind anybody else of: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1993/05/26 http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1993/05/26

norseboar 12y ago
also relevant: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/06/30 http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/06/30

benatkin 12y ago

At the very least he is sure to make back the cost of the io domain.

dicroce 12y ago

Weightlifting? Is this guy an actual "brogrammer"?

tokenadult 12y ago

This is actually an intriguing business idea. I believe that most of the upvotes the submission is getting here are genuine expressions of interest in a radically different idea. (It's also fun to make snarky comments about this submission.) I won't be snarky here, but will suggest a news story of related interest. Journalist A. J. Jacobs turned on his full sense of humor as well as his honesty when he wrote a story for Esquire magazine in 2007 about the "radical honesty" movement. The story's title gets him started: "I Think You're Fat."[1] When I read this story the first time, right after it was published, I laughed out loud and immediately shared it with my favorite online group of friends (this was pre-Facebook, for me). I shared it with a new group of friends this summer, and found out that they like the story too. Try it. I think you'll like it. A guy who could take the business idea proposed in this thread and execute it with as much humor as A. J. Jacobs could become a millionaire. [1] http://www.esquire.com/features/honesty0707 http://www.esquire.com/features/honesty0707

zamalek 12y ago
You would be surprised how often you just... lie. Even if it's something unimportant, or a story that doesn't exist. You can lie about the most meaningless things. If you pay attention to your lying you will be horrified how often you do it, and how pointless the things you lie about are. I guess I form part of this "radical honesty" movement. Once you learn to trick your mind out of lying it's so refreshing. Lying is extremely stressful, I have no idea why we have a natural tendency to employ it. Instead of worrying if my wife finds out I've lied about drinking with colleagues ("I'm working late"), I know that I can ask her to fetch me if I go over the limit. Although, there's a difference between being honest and being a dick.
downandout 12y ago
There was a pretty entertaining Ricky Gervais movie called The Invention of Lying in which everyone on earth is physically incapable of lying, save one. Before you ask for ubiquitous radical honesty, watch it :). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfmXodInxTU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfmXodInxTU
- 12y ago

Dewie 12y ago

> I've always been direct and never had a problem telling it like it is. I know that type.

ZenoArrow 12y ago
Yes, generally rude whilst ignoring the consequences (honesty should not be used as a 'get out of jail free' card).

mlangdon 12y ago

He forgot "German Language capitalization Rules" among his interests.

beachstartup 12y ago

this is basically what management consulting firms do, except for a million times more money.

acpk 12y ago

No money back guarantee?

kunkelast 12y ago
good point :)

acpk 12y ago

No money back guarantee?

27182818284 12y ago

Whatever happened to feedbackarmy.com?

alxdistill 12y ago

Okay. I did it, paid my $10 bucks and waiting for an email. I actually run a much more expensive, competing service: http://talkshopwithus.com http://talkshopwithus.com

alxdistill 12y ago
Here's Jordan's first email: ----------------------------- Hey there, Thanks for buying Brutal Honesty. What can I help you with? Ask away. Cheers Jordan ----------------------------- And then this is my reply: ----------------------------- Hi Jordan, So I was hoping to get your honest opinion on a business idea I'm working on. It's a bit similar to your business I guess. Here's our site: http://talkshopwithus.com http://talkshopwithus.com Let me know if you think this seems like total bullshit, or if it's cool. Thanks! -Alex
- hashtree 12y ago
  Here is a free one: The "See More Creatives" link 404s hitting against makers.html
chrismorgan 12y ago
On your site, in viewports less than 768px wide, the header background image disappears, leaving a light background that makes the text very difficult to read. The image should probably not disappear, and the background-color should also be changed to something dark like the image, so that in case the image doesn’t load the text will still be legible.
- alxdistill 12y ago
  Thanks for catching that!
winslow 12y ago
Interesting. Will you be sharing your email/conversation with him?
- 12y ago

feldir 12y ago

We have a different perception of what a friend is, brutalhonesty.io.

genix1212 12y ago

love the bitcoin acceptance

clamprecht 12y ago

For those old enough to remember 1-900 phone numbers, there used to be 1-900-4INSULT (or something like this) that you called and paid $10. The person who answered would just insult you until you couldn't take it anymore. This reminds me of that.

goodoldboys 12y ago

Hey everyone - thanks for the feedback. I wasn't sure how the response would be but it's been mostly positive so far. I came up with the idea because I wanted to use such a service, but when I couldn't find anything I figured I'd create it and thought it would be fun. Most importantly I want to help people out - the $10 is so I can (somewhat) justify it from a time perspective. So far it turns out I'm spending a lot of time on each request, but that's fine because I'm enjoying it. I'm really appreciating the snark as well!

highiquser 12y ago
The idea is terrible because you lack the qualifications to answer questions outside if your own personal expertise (whatever that may be). Second, assuming you get questions, you will be working at $20-10/hour. Not much money. So yeah, two thumbs down. awful idea
- jczhang 12y ago
  Dude, what a troll comment.
  - newobj 12y ago
    Brutal honesty. Dot io.
    - mjnaus 12y ago
      Well, this whole thing IS about being honest...
  - chromedude 12y ago
    Well at least he's got a high IQ =P
- nopar8 12y ago
  The comment is terrible because you lack the qualifications to comment outside if your own personal expertise (whatever that may be). Second, assuming you get to comment, you will be working for free. Not much money. So yeah, two thumbs down. awful comment See what I did there :P

derekja 12y ago

I would have done it on Fiverr or something so that payment was easy. Actually that could be kinda fun! Here's mine... https://www.fiverr.com/s/6e795u https://www.fiverr.com/s/6e795u

anonfunction 12y ago
Any takers yet?

unknownBits 12y ago

I give you $10 when you give me your credit card nr, so I can take $20 from you if your answer is not satisfying for me. The $10 for me is for my time wasted on you.. Dude, the fact you propose this seriously, gives me the only answer I need from you.

jerguismi 12y ago

Damn, I just paid $10 in Bitcoin and I'm not sure if the checkout works. The only thing I was asked was my email address, and I don't see anything in my inbox. Well, I hope they deliver.

RainSunshine 12y ago
Give it a bit of time. He is going to reply personally and probably got dozens of questions. It might take a day to reply to them all.
- hnha 12y ago
  So, who are you, sockpuppet?
  - RainSunshine 12y ago
    This site doesn't have a way to report troll posts like yours? Shame. Doubt I will make it a habit to visit here.

jtheory 12y ago

I, personally, cannot imagine any question to which I would get a more valuable answer from a 28-year-old software engineer in California interested in finance, men's fashion and weightlifting than I would get from my wife, family, friends and peers -- people who know me; whose lives actually overlap with mine in some way. What is "telling it like it is" if you don't share the same context? How likely is it he can pick up on something you should really know (like: "you interrupt women more often than you do men") if all he knows about you is what you've told him? I imagine myself paying $10 and asking "hey, what do you think of my outfit tonight?" And he would kindly inform me that my chances of scoring (or whatever they call it these days) wearing these sandals, hiking pants (pull these zippers and they become shorts!) and grey kinda stretched-out long-sleeve t-shirt are next to zero. But my Friday night activity was going out with my wife, toddler & 5-year-old to have dinner with a bunch of retired English expats in the middle of nowhere in central France. I sat next to a guy who was a large-scale industrial engineer back in the 70s -- extracting helium & natural gas in communist Poland, in Iran when the Shah fell... And my little ones had great fun racing around and then choosing the winning tickets for the lottery. But: there are plenty of people in this world (or at least in the more Californian parts of this world) who share his particular little slice of the human experience, who are a bit less far along than he is, perhaps, in figuring out who they are and who they want to be, and who have not yet built any meaningful friendships. (It seems like it should go without saying: if you have built a meaningful relationship with someone who cares about you and has a bit of wisdom, they will find a way to tell you the things you need to know with no brutality required. You will also do this for them.)

jerguismi 12y ago
Who the fuck cares if you don't see the need. It is a niche product, like an impulse buy in a supermarket. I don't see need for 99% of the crap what is sold in a dollar store, but the dollar store is still a quite solid business. That said, I just bought my advice, paid but I still don't see email. Damn.
- goodoldboys 12y ago
  Sorry about that - this got popular faster than I thought it would! Did you use paypal or bitcoin? I think I'm having issues with Coinbase at the moment. Could you send me an email directly at brutalhonestyio@gmail.com? I'll get to yours next :)

no_future 12y ago

Is this some kind of ironic/tongue-in-cheek thing? I feel like some of the people in this thread are taking it too seriously.

kitwalker12 12y ago

I can see the headlines... Silicon Valley capitalizes on "penny for your thoughts"

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

jerguismi 12y ago
OK. I'm not associated with the service, but as I'm in tough spot in my business, I'm looking for some advice. Considering that usually the going rate for the people I employ is something like $50 to $150, $10 for advice seems quite cheap. For your arguments: 1. Why would I care about the heading? I don't care if the guy is cheap or not, I just want honest, brutal feedback for once. 2. Well the guy has focus, I prefer buying from a guy that invests in the thing he does instead of secondary thing like a logo. 3. Again, who cares? ... yadda yadda. In this case the website look doesn't matter, but the copy.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- aikah 12y ago
  > OK. I'm not associated with the service, but as I'm in tough spot in my business, I'm looking for some advice. > $10 for advice seems quite cheap. Do you really think you'll get a real sound advice for 10$ dollars?you're kidding yourself. On the other hand,the guy should really sell some book on how to rip off people of 10$ dollars without doing anything valuable,because it seems there are potential clients here. If you're desperate about your business,consult a lawyer or a financial adviser.Yes it's expensive,but better spend 10 minutes with someone that has serious credentials than losing 10 bucks from a scammer.

hammock 12y ago

Reminds me of http://www.assholeconsulting.com/ http://www.assholeconsulting.com/

unknownBits 12y ago

The LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This site is for entertainment purposes only. Stupidity rules for ever.. ..the people who do it, and the people who buy it.. Please, send your valuable money to the people suffering real poverty, you might save some children from sexual abuse and raise your soul.

_asciiker_ 12y ago

I get all my brutal & honest feedback from IRC channels... for free.

tenderlove 12y ago

I'm disappointed there are no samples.

doah78 12y ago

No his landing page does not look "professsional"

egypturnash 12y ago

I don't know why, but "Pay with Bitcoin" at the bottom made me laugh. I think it's because that really just completes the picture of a certain sort of kinda tactless bro who Has Lots Of Opinions.

Walkman 12y ago

I don't know what this guy is talking about. Maybe I'm lucky enough to have these friends, but this week I asked multiple friends and one person who I don't know that well about my current situation and they told me things like "You are really stupid you did that!" or "Get your shit together!", or "Do something already you idiot!". (Not joking or something, these were they actual, serious answers to me on the topic.) I don't know how could I get more honest opinion than these. Also I think your best friends care enough to tell you the truth, and your responsibility should be also to tell them if you care enough! Yes, sometimes it's hard. One of my best friend says me things all the time which hurt my feelings very badly, but he always adds "I don't say this because I want to hurt you, but because I want the best for you.". He shouldn't say that because I know his intent and he is one of my best friend for more than 10 years now, even though he is brutal. :) Another example when I complained years ago to another friend about something, she told me how I dare to feel that way, I should feel lucky, I have a lot of friends and that's just stupid to worry about something like what I told her. She shocked me with her opinion but the more I think about it, the more I think she was right and I never heard an opinion like that before. We were very good friends at the time also!

StronglyTyped 12y ago

Shit, I've been giving this away on facebook for free.

saltcookie 12y ago

how many of u actually paid this retard for a opinion. If non of u, why is he getting so many upvotes.

floatingatoll 12y ago

While the copyright attributes to "brutalhonesty.io" [1], the privacy policy [2] more accurately identifies this as a venture of "Warrior One". The only "Warrior One" I can locate is a coaching firm for lawyers, with no one named Jordan listed on their about page [3] as a member of staff. I've asked this Warrior One on Twitter [4] if they are the actual owner of the site, and will reply here if they respond. [1] which implies that either a DBA filing exists for that name, or no such name exists [2] "I reserve the right to transfer your personally identifiable information, as well as any other information, in connection with the sale or other disposition of all or part of Warrior One’s business, assets, or both." [3] http://www.warriorone.com/our-story/ http://www.warriorone.com/our-story/ [4] https://twitter.com/floatingatoll/status/520745627278270465 https://twitter.com/floatingatoll/status/520745627278270465

bikamonki 12y ago

Hahahaha only in California!

drawkbox 12y ago

This guy has turned Larry David's social assassin service into a business. I can see similar services popping up such as ask a New Yorker and ask a southie where people are real. Real opinions outside of high school may be marketable.

chayesfss 12y ago

Just ask a father in law

vishalzone2002 12y ago

I think its not about paying someone $10 for a review of an app.Instead the real deal should be to make someone pay $10 for some idea/app.

vishalzone2002 12y ago
and I think that is what he(brutally honest) is trying to do as well.

ramigb 12y ago

While this might be a good idea, but if you want the truth just post it to Reddit or Hacker News, those motherfuckers are brutal and won't take it easy on you, anyways, i wish you luck.

sturmeh 12y ago

If I wanted brutal honesty from my friends, I would ask them for it. If they're not being brutally honest with me, it's typically for a good reason, and they'll do it on request. I have no idea how a random software engineer on the other side of the world is going to be useful in regards to giving me brutally honest advice without seeing any perspective but my own (the only information he will have to go off is what I tell him).

jkaljundi 12y ago

So it's an online psychic. No idea if $10 is cheap or expensive for psychics.

yitchelle 12y ago

Why spend the $10 with brutalhonesty.io when you can just post your question on Ask HN? The way HN is going these days, your honest answers will be here within 24hrs!

leepowers 12y ago
Exactly. The Internet is full of people who have no problem openly and honestly calling it like they see it. Often cynically and viciously so.

freshflowers 12y ago

Must be a cultural thing. In the Netherlands, you can get that for free. #1 source of culture shock for Americans coming over here. "Did he just say that?"

leepowers 12y ago

Is (insert idea here) a good business/app/website idea? Would you pay (amount) for (product/app/service)? Do you like my app? (web/iOS only, for now) Does my landing page look professsional? Getting one guy's opinion about any of these things is anecdotal at best. It's not a comprehensive information source. And it would be foolish to use it in your decision making process. There's better ways to collect data: 1) Spend that $10 towards an adword campaign for a pre-launch signup page for you website/app idea. Maybe this guy won't sign up, but maybe a dozen, a hundred or a thousand other people will. Why waste your money on one data point? 2) Put the money to buying beer. Invite your friends and family over, get them liquored up a bit. I guarantee you'll hear a great deal of honest feedback. 3) Post on HN, reddit, slashdot or any other number of web sites where armchair cynics freely administer scathing advice.