How to get useful feedback on a startup idea
Useful feedback comes from asking about someone's past behaviour rather than your idea. Ask what they did last time they had this problem, what it cost them, and what they tried, then ask a founder or operator separately to attack your reasoning. Compliments are not validation; a specific objection or a completed action is.
At a glance
- Ask customers about the past, not about your idea.
- Ask founders to break your reasoning, not to rate it.
- Separate the two conversations, they answer different questions.
- Treat 'I'd definitely use that' as noise until money or time moves.
- Write down what would change your mind before you ask.
Two different conversations
Potential customers can tell you whether the problem is real and what they currently do about it. They cannot tell you whether your solution will work, and they will be polite about it.
Other founders and operators can attack your assumptions, your pricing and your go-to-market. They can't tell you whether your customers care. Run both, separately.
Questions that get truth from customers
All of these are about behaviour that has already happened, which is much harder to be polite about.
- When did you last deal with this? Walk me through what you did.
- What did it cost you, money, hours, or a lost customer?
- What have you already tried, and why did you stop?
- Who else is affected when this goes wrong?
- If nothing changed, would that be fine?
Questions that get truth from founders
Explicitly ask for the objection. People withhold criticism unless invited to give it.
- What's the most likely reason this fails in the next six months?
- Which assumption here would you test first, and how cheaply?
- Where does this get expensive that I haven't priced in?
- Who has tried this and stopped, do you know why?
Reading the answers honestly
Decide in advance what would count as a red flag, and write it down. Otherwise you will reinterpret every answer in your favour, everybody does.
Strong signals: someone books time, pays a deposit, sends you their spreadsheet, or introduces you to a colleague. Weak signals: enthusiasm, 'when it launches', and feature suggestions.
A critique request that gets real objections
Give people permission to be blunt, and make the target narrow.
**Critique request, pricing page for a clinic scheduling tool** Context: pre-launch, targeting independent UK physio clinics with 2-6 practitioners. My assumption: clinics will pay £49/month because one no-show costs more than that. What I want attacked: is the per-clinic flat fee wrong for a 6-practitioner site? Where does this pricing fall apart as they grow? Please be blunt: Red is fine, I'd rather know now.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Business Support HelplineFree UK business support and signposting to local Growth Hubs.
Checked when this page was last reviewed (26 August 2026). Official guidance changes, follow the link for the current position.
What NoNetwork can help with
- Critique is a distinct response type here, so you can ask to be challenged rather than supported.
- Optional Green / Amber / Red judgement gives you a readable signal on ideas, pricing and strategy posts.
- Support and Advise exist separately, so encouragement never gets mistaken for validation.