I agree that this can be a problem. I’ve previously found myself demoralised after suggesting ideas for projects only to be immediately met with questions like ‘Why you, not someone else?’, ‘Wouldn’t x group do this better?’ I think having a cofounder helps greatly with handling this. It’s also something that founders just have to learn to deal with.
In this case though, I think Gleb_T’s question was good. We explicitly asked for feedback and we wanted to get questions like this so that we were forced to think through things we may not have properly considered. On a post like this, I’d rather have lots of feedback and criticism so that we know where the potential weaknesses of the project are.
I’d suggest the heuristic: If you’re friend is enthusiastically telling you about a new idea, hold off on criticism for a while whilst you help them develop it. If someone asks for feedback, or if you’ve been discussing the project for a bit longer, give the most useful feedback you can, even if it’s negative.
Thanks for your comments about the benefits of staying independent.
I agree that this can be a problem. I’ve previously found myself demoralised after suggesting ideas for projects only to be immediately met with questions like ‘Why you, not someone else?’, ‘Wouldn’t x group do this better?’ I think having a cofounder helps greatly with handling this. It’s also something that founders just have to learn to deal with.
In this case though, I think Gleb_T’s question was good. We explicitly asked for feedback and we wanted to get questions like this so that we were forced to think through things we may not have properly considered. On a post like this, I’d rather have lots of feedback and criticism so that we know where the potential weaknesses of the project are.
I’d suggest the heuristic: If you’re friend is enthusiastically telling you about a new idea, hold off on criticism for a while whilst you help them develop it. If someone asks for feedback, or if you’ve been discussing the project for a bit longer, give the most useful feedback you can, even if it’s negative.
Thanks for your comments about the benefits of staying independent.