Ask HN: How would you respond during an interview to a founder who says

> ...I chickened out, nodded and smiled...

Nodding and smiling isn't chickening out, and short of keeping a poker face, it's actually the most appropriate reaction.

A job interview (which is what I'm assuming you are referring to) is an opportunity for you to evaluate a prospective employer just as much as it is an opportunity for a prospective employer to evaluate you. Generally-speaking, it should remain free of conflict regardless of what is said. After all, once the interview ends, neither party is under the obligation to continue the process so you have nothing to gain by injecting conflict.

There are a ton of startups out there today. Some are great and have real potential, but a lot of them are run by inexperienced folks with little to no real passion and even less domain expertise. Many of these startups will disappear in the next few years and in a funding environment less frothy, most of them wouldn't exist in the first place.

You are lucky that you were able to speak to the founder and that he was candid enough to reveal things that helped you make a decision. Not every candidate gets this opportunity and unlike you, many candidates don't take enough interest in evaluating the knowledge, experience and perspectives of the people who their employment would be dependent on.

It can actually be interpreted in two ways. I feel that passion for a particular domain is very important. May be what he meant was that their culture and mentality would be the same regardless of the product. This shows strong commitment towards building something!

On the other hand, if he genuinely meant that they will just build stuff for the heck of it, regardless of the domain they are in, then it's a bit impassive for a person in the startup world. From a businessman's perspective, it's all about whether or not you build some product. From a techie's perspective, it's all about whether or not you build the right product. So in retrospect, may be he shouldn't have said that to an interviewee during an interview.

There are some people who love business for the sake of business, and to them it doesn't matter what the business they are doing is. I know of some developers with a similar ethic, as long as they are getting paid to code, which is what they see their job as, then they are happy.

Personally, I can't imagine doing it, and I think it is probably rare in the start-up space.

I would have responded with "I'm the type of person who likes to be engaged in the work I'm doing, able to put myself in the shoes of our customers and figure out how to build the best product for them, so for me, the domain is important because if I want to be in work environment where I feel strongly about the product we're creating and customers we're serving."

Spreadsheets work regardless of the domain. Email too. Crud and cms will need requirements but not heavy domain knowledge.

You could be mistaking a factually correct statement for lack of passion.