What to do when no one wants to give feedback?
I've been working on a project for a few months, and throughout the process I've been unable to get any actionable feedback - from anyone.
I've asked my developer friends: nothing.
I've asked my mentor: nothing.
I've asked the guy who helped fund me at the start: nothing.
I've asked a potential investor: nothing.
I've asked my brother: nothing.
I've asked on Twitter: nothing.
I've asked on Discord: nothing.
You get the point. I'm either extremely unlucky, an asshole who everyone hates, or something is wrong with the project on such a level that everyone's eyes immediately glaze over and they simply say "it's great!" or "I don't know what this is". Those are literally the only responses I've ever gotten over this entire period, if I ever got a response at all.
Whenever I try to follow up, explain things, ask for a call, etc. They just stop responding.
What can I do to fix this? Do I just keep pestering people? Do I pay someone to take one fucking hour to give it a proper tear-down? Am I barking up the wrong trees?
I'm extremely frustrated at this point, and it feels like everyone around me is useless.
Feel your pain. Maybe you are an asshole :D
But let's assume that's not the case. Maybe sharing my story will help:
We managed to get 4000 free BETA signups for our SAAS in 2018. Then when we finally went live only like 20 people ended up buying (even if it was at a 50% discount)
And there was suddenly just complete silence from 4000 people :O :O
I was like, how could things have gotten so silent.
I found out the hard way that when your product sucks, no one will want to talk about it.
Now I really cherish those assholes who are super cynical about everything and will tell you in your face if something sucks. They are gold for a startup. Yes they are annoying and your ego must go on vacation while they thrash you, but damn that's the kind of people you need for real input.
Where to find such people? At least in Denmark people are pretty cynical online, so in various FB groups and on other dedicated forums you find plenty of assholes ready to attack a bad idea :)
This is what worked for me.
Friends/family/network are the worst for advice. Especially if you are from a country with a polite culture. Forget about it ;)
Great reply!
Reddit is great for 100% honest feedback (either through publics posts or DMs).
Yeah that also worked for me quite well lately :)
Thanks, I agree there's an underlying knowledge that something isn't right, but no one will put in that 5 minutes of self-reflection to explain why they don't like it. Getting just one person to do it could literally save the project, so that's why I'm so freaked out about it.
I guess I'll start looking for some reddit communities I could ask around in and find a basement-dwelling Steve Jobs who will explain how the app is bad and how it's ultimately a reflection of my own failures as a human being. You're right, that kind of radical candour and some minimal effort is extremely helpful for startups.
Haha if you can bring that humour along in those reddit groups I am sure they will respond ;)
Well, now we are at, I have like zero time but 10 min I could give. Could you PM me your app and I will give real feedback. And don't worry, I wont shoot it down just to prove a point.
Hi 😂 jk
I think you already have your feedback, and it's crystal clear. It's just not the feedback you want to hear.
I took a look at your project, and here is mine. Online videos == YouTube. They have all the data (which user watches which videos for how long), and they have all the experienced engineers. So how are you going to compete with that?
For searching podcasts, I have no idea.
Touche. There are new competitors popping up like Odysee, but I understand the sentiment.
What if this was a browser extension that tied into YouTube and exposed metadata as well as provided content search for the video you're currently watching?
I don't see what benefit it would provide me over what YouTube already offers
For you personally? I can see YouTube's UX being "comfortable", but I don't think it's great - it's just a glorified video player. The best feature it has is the manually defined "sections" in the timeline which tell you what the topic is for long-form content.
If you could add anything to the video player, what would it be?
You should talk to people that have the problem, not those that don't have it.
Try to sell a solution to people that have a burning problem. If you can't find anyone who has that problem, how are you going to find one after you built the product?
LOLs
Join communities. Be genuinely helpful. Be friendly, polite, thank people, and even reward them for it.
You don’t expect that kind of help for free do you??? 😝
Yes, because I value their help, I reward them for it. Generally not with cold hard cash though. Dinner giftcards, seasonal gifts, or thoughtful gifts go a long way to show that you care about their feedback and time. Everyone I’ve rewarded has said they would gladly help me again.
There are many people I know who I have helped in the past, and they are generally willing to give me some of their time, especially if it’s for advice. I find people like to be helpful and feel appreciated. After they’ve helped you, appreciate them by rewarding them. Be careful not to wear them out with requests. Try to spread out across as many people as possible.
You can also trade your expertise for others’ expertise. Not a good designer? Trade dev work for design work, etc.
Also, reading The Mom Test may help you receive better feedback. It’ll help you get more than “it’s great”. Sometimes, people you know don’t want to hurt your feelings with criticism.
@reinard I finally understand why you’re offering the Calendly links—you founded mooshot.so to “Supercharge your engagement, activation & retention”. Mystery solved.
Does your platform mainly focus on quantitative analytics, or do you also do qualitative research?
My platform focuses on qualitative at the moment, but I'd like to combine both.
I'm not trying to sell anyone anything. I'm trying to provide value first, listen to pain points around validation, so that I can actually build something useful. I'd probably prefer to speak with people not interested in my solution to be honest.
I suppose a reward could be helpful, I guess I just assume that I would help in return - or rather that there's an unspoken agreement that people doing these kinds of things help each other out.
All relationships are a give and take. With some friends and students, they gladly give advice and help because I’ve already done the same for them in the past. For acquaintances and those clearly going out of their way to help me, some sort of thoughtful reward or at least a thank you note, goes a long way if you want to ask them for help a second time. Of course, I would gladly help them in return, but receiving those types of gratuitous rewards makes them feel really appreciated.
For example, you may know a patent attorney. An hour of their time is worth a very nice dinner at a very nice restaurant. Come prepared with all of your research and all of your questions—never waste their time. You may know a marketer, who helps you with understanding your audience, proofs your copy, and even knows a bunch of other people to refer and help you. They also deserve a very nice dinner for being so helpful. None of them have to help you or me, but if we return their favor, they’ll probably help us again next time too.
Going to reiterate that you should not wear people out with requests and spread the questions among as many people as possible. Don’t wear out your welcome.
Also, join a few communities and help other people out for a few weeks. When you have your questions ready later, you can ping the ones you’ve helped in the past. I give a lot of design feedback, and it’s always nice when the favor is returned.
Seriously, read The Mom Test book.
I just read The Mom Test, and it seems I'm doing everything ass backwards. Thanks for the suggestion.
There's a bigger problem with communities right now though: they're all very fractured and broken. Even IH has tons of people just trying to sell you shit instead of actually helping. On Discord and Reddit it's nearly impossible to get help for anything besides the very basics - otherwise it's all a wasteland of unanswered questions and people joining then leaving.
Back in the IRC days I was able to find healthy communities and give/get help, but now it's a very different world. Not sure what can be done about that.
Great! That’ll help you a lot.
They still exist—mostly on slack and discord now.
Don’t make the same mistake. Help people and contribute value, then ask for it in return.
Just you wait until I have a prototype I can reference everywhere lols jk
Btw, I'm not trying to sell you anything. Offer is still open.
What's the project? It seems like you might be simply building something no one cares about. It's hard but this is often the way the market has of telling you your project doesn't add much value.
I agree, but I'd expect more information from technical people who know what it's like to build a project. "Treat others as you would have them treat you" mantra and all, it's absolutely disappointing to me that even my developer friends have nothing to say about the matter.
I've created a thread for it here: https://www.indiehackers.com/post/feedback-needed-scryer-a-new-search-engine-for-videos-and-podcasts-8c94668f6c
What’s the project? Why don’t you post here and see if you can get some feedback? Though an hour, mentioned above, seems like a lot to ask. Is there any way you could simplify the feedback you’re looking for?
Right, I don't expect random people to spend an hour on it. I just thought that there'd be more than "this is cool" kinds of responses.
I've created a thread for it here: https://www.indiehackers.com/post/feedback-needed-scryer-a-new-search-engine-for-videos-and-podcasts-8c94668f6c
I'll give you feedback. Send me a DM on Twitter and I'll share my Calendly link. I'm happy to jump on a Zoom call with you (this goes for anyone who needs help with customer validation, business, SaaS growth, etc).
https://twitter.com/reinards
I feel your pain. I've been having the same issue. Haven't figure out any fixes yet.
If I can help, send me a DM on Twitter and I'll share my Calendly link. I'm happy to jump on a Zoom call with you.
https://twitter.com/reinards