Bad feedback is from my “entrepreneur-side” point of view this type: “it’s too close from Ning, so it’s useless.” (note: the dot is just after useless)

We don’t need more money or infrastructure, or simpler administrative processes. We probably need a change of mentality. And often it seems that’s the hardest thing to change in society…

That gets to the larger problem which Laurent articulates very well. I just relocated to Helsinki from London and I’m getting to know the startup community here. Their issues are the same as the folks in London. People seem to be caught in a vicious circle between culture and ecosystem. So when a team has drive and an idea they start to look to the US for a chance at success.

Events like Seedcamp are helping. But is there more we can do? To me it seems the low hanging fruit is the stigma of failure. How do remove this stigma? Can you?

Your comments are a needed reminder to anyone who has to assess a project: be humble, approach this exercise as if you’re the one who could be wrong. But sometimes – and you probably know what project triggered this thought right? – it’s just too obvious, and helping is trying to re-route an entrepreneur to another career or project.

I’ll quote you from now on: “I don’t see this succeeding because of X, Y, and Z. If you really believe in the idea prove me wrong”

Are there simply “bad” ideas out there? Absolutely. Will they stop simply because someone tells them “it won’t work”? No (and if they do they’re in the wrong business). Should they stop? Probably not. More often than not the market (be it money, talent, users, revenue etc.) is the only one who can effectively determine if the idea doesn’t work (and effectively deliver the message) . So as an entrepreneur if you believe in your idea, you are compelled to get it out there and see if your belief is founded. Advisors are not judge and jury (but good ones can help by identifying some potential pitfalls early on). As a result I don’t worry about negative feedback discouraging a true entrepreneur.

That being said, giving honest but difficult feedback is never easy. Too soft and you risk having your message misunderstood. To hard and the other party writes off your views and you become the arrogant know-it-all.

When confronted with a project I’m doubtful of, I think it is important to say “I don’t see this succeeding because of X, Y, and Z”, but I also think it important to say “if you really believe in the idea, prove me wrong”. This to me is very different than saying “it won’t work”. This acknowledges the fact that there is as much (if not more) chance that I’m wrong as there is of the idea being crap. I may not understand the target market, or more likely I’m too dense to get the idea. And then there is the difficulty of predicting success. The reality is that it is very very hard it is to predict success in part because we fool ourselves with compelling “explanations” of the reason for the success after the fact (e.g. Black Swan events). If you are right 2 or 3 out of 10 times you are doing very well. Any advice should be honest and direct but tempered with the fact that in this business “nobody knows nothing”.