Ask HN: Non-specific negative feedback on product ideas.

Situations like this used to bother me greatly. In fact there have been several times in my life where I dumped ideas simply because someone told me it was a bad idea, only to watch that idea turn into a million dollar opportunity a year later with someone else. Over time I have learned that not everyone is going to like every idea or product. You could have the greatest product in the world and there will always be detractors who have no interest or a bad opinion. Unless every body you talk to has the same reaction I would not worry about the few who could care less.

Even Henry Ford had people who thought cars were a crazy idea and they would never use them. Now look where we are with vehicles. In short, don't worry about it.

Maybe try Lean methodology? Make sure you're clear on the problem you're solving and who you're solving it for. Then come up with a hypothesis and ask specific questions validate or invalidate the hypothesis. https://www.leanstartupmachine.com/validationboard/

Make sure to interview as many people as possible to to ensure that the consensus is generally positive. But expecting 100% approval is a pipe dream.

Why did you meet with this person? Is he a manager/peer or an actual part of your target market? Is your peer-group or managers your target market? Political dynamics can complicate product development. The "not invented here syndrome" is a classic.

People may not want to show the product respect or attention for selfish motives.

Alternatively, consider the 10x better benchmark. Many people will face legitimate costs to switching their routine/existing solutions. So, for a 10% better product, the ROI is still negative for them. This is a more legitimate and yet still common form of 'resistance' that is expressed as general apathy in many contexts. Particularly in enterprise or big-co outside customers.

To try to evaluate if it is the former or the latter, consider approaching a mix of people for feedback. Most importantly, evaluate their credentials and motives as part of your process.