[dhouston]

is the problem that they don't like the idea, or aren't willing to give up their day job?

if the latter, i've seen pg's essays (either why to not not start a startup, how to make wealth, how to start a startup, whatever) and better yet jessica's book (founders at work) serve as a serious kick in the ass to people in cushy day jobs at ms and google; a few of my friends quit are now in this summer's yc program.

if pitching the idea isn't going well, i've found that giving potential team members problems to solve ("hey, how could this be made to scale to x members" or "what features should be put into the first version" -- whatever, the specific problem isn't the point) gets people going (and as a bonus lets you see if they give smart answers) and 1) makes them feel a sense of ownership/participation in the project and 2) opens the door to nudges like "yeah, these are the kinds of problems we'd be solving!" i've found this kind of end-around persuasion is better than arguing or trying to tackle objections head on (people love to buy; they hate to be sold.)