The Path of Truth Tellers is Littered with Dead Scapegoats

Wildfire Labs posted an article a few days ago that directly encourages the need for someone to tell you, in my words, “that’s dumb, don’t do that”. ?The catch is, that comment may have years of reasons behind it. Reasons most people don’t want to hear, understand, nor believe. That’s completely fine! You probably already fired them anyway by now. Or dismissed them, forgot to respond, got busy …all the excuses I’ll cover. Ask me how I know.

Anyway, here’s a bit of a view from the other side.

Steps you will fail Embracing Truth Tellers

1.????? Self-Honesty is Lacking: It’s fashionable to say, “I have imposter syndrome” and be a victim. It’s an excuse. Change your language, be intimately honest with yourself …there’s your truth. Only then can you bring in someone else’s.

2.????? Ugly Baby: It’s not easy to be told your baby is ugly. It is. Good news -- it’s early and it’s time to find out what your baby is good at and turn them into an Olympian.

?3.????? The Idea: In complete puppy love with your idea? How many people have you known they weren’t right for each other, and they wouldn’t listen because they’re in love? Now that’s you… and your idea.

?4.????? Polite vs Honesty mismatch: “I love this idea, it’s SO great!” is polite. Honest is “This has at least 100 competitors, how and what are you doing differently?” We get it, it’s the comment you want to hear in a crowd …so plan accordingly and follow up.

?5.????? The words: We tell you this because we really do care. Not about your feelings and short-term strife, but you, your success and what you are building. Don’t forget that.

?6.????? You are not ready for a Truth Teller: They come in, give you the beans and your response? Freeze, crawl back into the safety of the chamber of yes and pretend it never happened.

?7.????? Ultimately, it’s up to you: It’s your company, your effort, your sweat, blood, sleepless nights and moments of euphoria.

?All that said, one point they made on this, is spot on and if you’re a founder, you should do this, A LOT. Regularly seek feedback. Not fake feel good “feedback” either. It’s invaluable, but you, yes you, must know where and when to ask for it… and prepare for what they have to say because you probably won’t like it, but need it all the same.?

You Don't Remember Us

It's thankless and forgettable. I've seen companies pivot to success or dodge fatal bullets because someone like me picked up the phone and delivered an uncomfortable truth. Here's the reality check:

• That investor call that made your Series A actually happen? The one where someone told you your pitch was garbage and helped you rebuild it at 11 PM? Yeah, that was three weeks before you "figured it out yourself."
• Remember that "gut feeling" that saved you from that catastrophic partnership? Funny how you forgot the two-hour call where someone walked you through exactly why it would implode.
• That brilliant pivot that saved your company? Somewhere, there's a truth-teller who got ghosted right after they forced you to see what you didn't want to see.

We're the antibodies to BS in the startup ecosystem - we do our job and get forgotten. That's fine. We didn't do it for the credit. But here's the truth about truth-tellers:

• We're the equivalent of that friend who stopped you from drunk driving - essential in the moment, awkward to acknowledge after
• Our value often only becomes clear in retrospect, long after you've written us out of the story
• We measure success in disasters avoided, not credits received

The ultimate irony? The better we do our job, the more "obvious" our advice seems in hindsight. Because once you see it, you can't unsee it. And that's exactly why you forget us - the truth, once seen, feels like it was always there.

But ask yourself this: If you can't remember who told you the hard truths that saved you, how many are you ignoring right now?

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