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Comment by kcodey | Hacker News Reader

I totally agree with the "negative people" part. I once gave the groupon elevator pitch to a relative who knows nothing about what's going on in terms of start ups or anything internet. His response was it was the the stupidest idea ever and he thought I should focus my efforts on something more worth while. I then told him they started 4 years ago and it's a billion dollar company. His reaction was priceless.

I mention this story because everyone will always be negative if they have never heard of what you are doing. That's just human nature. As entrepreneurs we have to keep plugging forward amidst the criticism and build our dreams.

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I think that's the wrong lesson to take. The reality is that no company is going to appeal to everyone--and a relative who's disconnected from "anything internet" probably never would have used Groupon. You've learned something about your target market.

A good lesson for everyone is that our personal needs from a business aren't the same as everyone else's, even tech people. After all, I'm still a little in shock that Bingo Card Creator sells for $30.

Nice answer! Crystallising WHO you are selling/targeting is a difficult art.

> As entrepreneurs we have to keep plugging forward amidst the criticism and build our dreams.

Feedback is an information source. Your job is to mine feedback for useful and relevant information. Whether the feedback is negative or positive is irrelevant. Criticism can contain a kernel of truth - it can point to a market weakness or an unfounded assumption. Praise can be very dangerous - socially, it's much easier to offer simple-minded positive re-enforcement to an entrepreneur and send them on their way.

I'd rather have 10 sneering, withering, and informative criticisms over a single fawning, ego-boosting, yet empty congratulation.

I think the trick is to distinguish between unhelpfully negative people and useful negative feedback. As an entrepreneur, you need both motivation (which positive feedback is good for) and information about your customers/business (which is ultimately negative, no matter what Edison-like spin you put on it, since the parts to improve are the parts you're currently doing wrong.)

It's not the quantity or proportion of negativity coming from people that's important; it's how accurate and actionable their feedback is in making your company better.

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