Non-starters

Non-starters refer to individuals, ideas, or things that are deemed unsuitable or unlikely to succeed from the outset. They lack the necessary qualities, resources, or conditions to be considered viable contenders. This can be due to various reasons, including lack of preparation, poor planning, insufficient funding, unsuitability for the intended purpose, or inherent flaws that make success improbable. The term often implies a lack of potential, or a situation that is destined to fail before any real effort is expended. non-starters are often immediately discarded or overlooked in favor of more promising options.

Non-starters meaning with examples

• The company's initial marketing strategy proved to be a non-starter; the focus group responses were overwhelmingly negative, and there was no positive engagement. The plan failed from the first discussion and was promptly dismissed after the findings were shared.
• His proposal for a new revolutionary engine was considered a non-starter by the funding board because the prototype, and the data surrounding the concept, demonstrated unfeasible technological capabilities.
• The project was doomed from the beginning; the team's lack of experience, insufficient budget, and unrealistic timeline made it a non-starter. There was too little expertise or support to ever achieve a viable outcome.
• After reviewing the applicant pool, several candidates were quickly identified as non-starters. The poor references, lack of experience and obvious lack of skills made the decision easy, with these candidates all rejected.
• The idea for a space elevator, using current materials, is seen by scientists as a non-starter, because of the lack of sufficiently strong building materials necessary for construction, without them the project cannot move forward.