The Filter:
"Have you seen the movie, The Social Network?"
[They likely say yes]
"Do you think the Winklevoss brothers were right or wrong?"
If they sympathize with the Winklevii it's a dealbreaker. They fail the test. Politely end the meeting and move on.*
An Explanation:
Their response provides a huge information shortcut; if they're Pro-Winklevii it lets me know that they don't understand tech startups. It means they overvalue ideas and undervalue execution. They overvalue business savvy and undervalue hackers. They simply don't get it. They're not who I would want to work with.
(As an aside: from my hacker-centric perspective I am shocked by how many people I've talked to, in general, who take sides with the Winklevii).
In the past few months I have been pitched by dozens of potential non-technical co-founders. They've ranged from college undergrads to well-known entrepreneurs who have built and sold companies.
In one such meeting yesterday, we talked for about an hour until I realized (by asking them point blank) that they honestly felt that their idea was far more valuable than my ability to build it (which I could do in about 4 hours).
I should've just started with this simple question. It would've saved me a lot of time (in this and many other similar meetings).
So try out the filter. Let me know how it works for you.
*One way to end the meeting (optional):
"You have part of my attention - you have the minimum amount. The rest of my attention is back at [my computer where I am] doing things that no one in this room, including and especially [you], are intellectually or creatively capable of doing."
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