
Ask HN: How to get industry insiders to talk to me? - atkc
I am brainstorming ideas for enterprise software in a particular industry. I want to talk to some industry insiders to validate my ideas. Other than my own personal contacts, what are some ways I can get industry insiders to talk to me and give me feedback? Thanks.
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Jugurtha
> _I am brainstorming ideas for enterprise software in a particular industry.
> I want to talk to some industry insiders to validate my ideas._

You can send your hypotheses in your email. Bottom line up front, getting to
the point as fast as possible avoiding the caricatural grandiose startup
diatribe of how your company will change the world, or what has lead you to
start it to fulfill a childhood dream.. It is much easier to receive a reply
to an email containing something to disagree with, than it is to an email
asking to set a meeting.

If you have a prototype, you can open an account for them, send credentials,
tell them what it does, and ask them what they think. You can also send a
screencast.

In my experience, being candid, jealous of and careful with people's time made
them more generous with their time.

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atkc
Good ideas. Thank you.

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maxk42
Simply send them an email or LinkedIn request and ask. If you're respectful of
their time and your ask is simple, most people are glad to help!

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atkc
Thanks. I have been using LinkedIn, and actually able to connect to some of
them. Setting up an actual meeting (online of course) seems a lot tougher. I
already personalized the message and targeted those people most likely to be
interested, but still not much luck. Any suggestion on how to improve my
chance of able to set up a meeting?

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maxk42
"Hi, I'm building <X> and I'm trying to understand the industry's pain points
better. Would <solution> be helpful? Is there something else that would be
useful to your business?"

Something like that. Ask specific questions if you want answers. Make it easy
for them to write a one- or two-sentence reply and you'll get paragraphs of
valuable information back.

~~~
atkc
Thanks. I'll give that a try too.

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obviyus
Most HNers have their emails listed on their profiles and encourage sending a
message. That could be a good starting point!

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atkc
Thanks, just added e-mail address.

