A while ago, a user once sent us very hateful messages with foul language via support and even on my personal Instagram… When I shared these messages with friends, I noticed a stark difference in how founders vs. non-founders reacted. Non-founders: “Oh, I’m so sorry this happened” “Ah that sucks!” "Oh no I can't believe that" Founders: “Yo, congrats!” "Great validation!" “Milestone unlocked!” A few key points: - This is one frustrated user out of many happy ones. - We communicated within our outlined hours, but when money is involved, minutes can sometimes feel like hours. (That said, mutual respect matters but that’s a spiel for another day…) - The problem resolved & we did all we could in our control to solve it up until it was If we failed to communicate, weren't actively solving the case, or had a high percentage of unhappy users, I’d have viewed this differently. Instead, similar to other founders’ perspectives, I found this reaction signaled that: - People care deeply about what we’re solving. - We got pointed feedback on what really matters to make the product even better. - We reached a level of visibility where love comes with few opinionated critiques — just like any other growing brand. Of course, we’ll always aim to do our best for customers & minimize negativity. But for founders, these outbursts don't have to be personal— turns out it could be market signal, too. Onwards! View original post on LinkedIn.