Find the Right People to Get Feedback on Your Startup Idea [AI Template]
Why Most Startup Feedback is Useless
Many startup ideas fail because they are built on bad feedback.
Founders talk to the wrong people, hear what they want to hear, or collect surface-level responses that don’t reflect real behavior.
Getting feedback isn’t the hard part—getting useful feedback from the right people is. If you talk to people who don’t experience the problem, their opinions will send you in the wrong direction. If you ask broad, vague questions, you’ll get polite but meaningless answers.
So how do you find people who will give you honest, insightful feedback before you invest time and money into building something?
Why Most Founders Struggle to Find the Right People
Most attempts at gathering feedback fail because of:
Talking to the wrong audience – Friends, startup communities, or general LinkedIn polls don’t reflect real customers.
Receiving vague, overly positive feedback – People don’t want to be rude, so they say it’s "interesting" instead of telling you it won’t work.
Asking bad questions – If you ask, "Would you use this?" people will say yes just to be nice. But saying "yes" isn’t the same as paying for it.
Relying on surveys instead of conversations – Mass surveys attract random opinions, while direct conversations reveal actual pain points.
Instead of asking anyone, you need a system to find people who actually experience the problem and care about solving it.
Where to Find the Right People Online
Your target users are already discussing their challenges somewhere.
You just need to find where.
1. Social Media & Professional Networks
LinkedIn – Look for people posting about the problem or engaging with relevant content.
Twitter/X – Search for complaints, recommendations, and discussions around your topic.
Reddit – Find niche subreddits where your audience talks about their struggles.
2. Online Communities & Industry Forums
Slack & Discord groups – Many industries have private communities where people discuss pain points.
Facebook groups – Particularly useful for B2C and niche professional communities.
Industry forums – Search for "[your industry] community" or "[problem] forum."
3. Q&A & Review Sites
Quora – Identify people asking and answering relevant questions.
Capterra & G2 – Read reviews of existing solutions to find common frustrations.
4. Competitor Research
Identify people commenting on competitor content.
Read negative reviews of competitors to find pain points that haven’t been solved.
How to Identify the Best People to Talk To
Once you find discussions, prioritize people who fit these categories:
Actively searching for solutions – Look for posts that include:
"Alternative to [competitor]"
"Best way to [solve problem]"
"How do I [task]?"
Making recommendations – People who suggest solutions often have deep knowledge.
In relevant job roles – If B2B, prioritize professionals who deal with the problem daily (e.g., Sales tools → Heads of Sales).
Proxies and analogues – If you can’t find direct users, look for people in similar industries with the same problem.
How to Reach Out and Get Responses
Once you find the right people, the next challenge is getting them to engage. Most outreach messages fail because they are too vague, too long, or too focused on your idea rather than their experience.
What to Avoid
"Hey, can I pick your brain?" → Too vague, sounds like a favor.
"Would you use this?" → Easy to say yes, but doesn’t reveal real behavior.
Long emails explaining your idea → No one has time to read that.
What Works Instead
Be specific about why you’re reaching out.
Make it clear you’re not selling anything.
Keep it short and easy to answer.
Example message:
"Hey [Name], I saw your post about [problem]. I’m working on something in this space and trying to understand [specific challenge]. Would love to hear how you currently solve this—just 10 min, no pitch. Open to a quick chat?"
AI-Powered Template to Find and Engage the Right People
Use this structured AI prompt to generate a list of potential respondents and an outreach message.
Copy and paste this prompt into one of the Deep Research AI tools (Perplexity Deep Research is free at the moment). Refine to fit your case and fill in the [blanks].
Act as a research assistant for a startup founder validating an idea.
Here are the idea details:
Industry / Problem area: [Describe your industry or the specific problem you are solving.]
Target audience: [Who experiences this problem? Be specific about job roles, industries, or company size.]
Discussion keywords: [Examples: "Alternative to [competitor]", "How to fix [problem]", "Best way to [do X]".]
Instructions for Output
Step 1: Find relevant discussions
Search LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, and Quora for posts from the last 30 days that include:
"Alternative to [competitor]"
"How to solve [problem]"
"Recommendation for [product/task]"
Complaints about existing solutions (e.g., "[Competitor] is too expensive" or "Why is [problem] so frustrating?").
Step 2: Identify relevant people
If B2B, look for professionals in [target industry/role].
If no direct users, find proxies in adjacent industries.
Prioritize those asking or answering questions, not just liking posts.
Step 3: Generate a personalized outreach message
Keep it short and reference their post.
Clearly state you are not selling anything.
Offer a simple, low-commitment ask (e.g., a 10-minute chat).
Example Outreach Message:
"Hey [Name], I saw your post about [problem]. I’m working on something in this space and trying to understand [specific challenge]. Would love to hear how you currently solve this—just 10 min, no pitch. Open to a quick chat?"Signs You’re on the Right (or Wrong) Track
Finding the right people for startup feedback isn’t a straightforward process. It takes iteration, and setbacks are normal. Here’s how to know whether you’re making progress or if you need to adjust your approach.
Indicators You’re on the Right Track
People are sharing detailed responses – They describe their frustrations, existing solutions, and workarounds instead of giving one-word answers.
You hear consistent patterns – Different people mention the same pain points or describe the problem in similar ways, signaling a real demand.
Some people already pay for a workaround – If users are hacking together their own solutions, it’s a strong sign they have an urgent problem.
You get follow-up questions – When people ask, "How are you solving this?" or "When can I try it?" they’re showing genuine interest.
They introduce you to others – When someone says, "You should talk to [person]—they have this problem too," you’re reaching the right audience.
Indicators You Need to Adjust
People say the problem isn’t a priority – If most responses are “Yeah, that’s annoying, but I wouldn’t pay for a solution,” the problem isn’t painful enough.
You’re only getting generic, polite feedback – If people say "Sounds interesting" or "Cool idea" but don’t engage further, they’re not the right audience.
Nobody is already trying to solve this problem – If there are no workarounds, no complaints, and no discussions about alternatives, the problem might not be real.
People ignore your outreach completely – If you’ve refined your message and targeted the right people but still get no responses, reconsider your approach. Are you reaching out to the right audience? Is your message too vague or too focused on your idea instead of their pain points?
You keep getting different answers – If every conversation contradicts the last, your target audience might be too broad, and you need to niche down.
How to Adjust on the Fly
If you’re getting low response rates, tweak your outreach message to be more specific and direct.
If you’re getting surface-level answers, ask better follow-up questions like “How do you currently solve this?” or “What’s the hardest part about [problem]?”
If you’re not seeing patterns, narrow your audience and focus on a more specific user group.
Talking to the right people takes time. If your first few conversations don’t go as planned, that’s part of the process. Keep adjusting and refining until you start seeing real signals.
Take Action: Find Your First 5 Conversations Today
The difference between a successful startup and a failed one? Talking to the right people early.
Use the AI prompt, find five relevant people today, and send your first outreach messages.
Start small, iterate based on responses, and refine your approach. The sooner you talk to the right people, the faster you’ll know whether your idea is worth building.
Would love to hear what responses you get—let me know how it goes!
PS: Was that useful? Leave me a ♡ so I know I’m on the right track.
What founder challenge should I tackle next? Maybe how to ask the right questions so you get useful feedback?