He Was Asked for Honest Feedback on a Flawed Business Plan—Then His Friend Went Silent When He Didn’t Validate It
Shutterstock
Starting a business is a big decision, and not something that you want to rush into without giving it a lot of thought.
What would you do if a good friend of yours told you about his business idea and asked you for some honest feedback?
That is what happened to the guy in this story, so he gave him feedback and explained that he might have some issues, but now his friend won’t talk to him.
Some people really don’t take bad news well, and that seems to be the case here. Read through the full story below and see if you think he did anything wrong.
AITA for telling my friend his business idea was bad when he asked for my opinion?
My friend has been talking about starting a business for about a year now.
Starting a business is not something you want to rush into.
A few weeks ago he finally sat me down and said he wanted my honest opinion before he quit his job and put his savings into it.
So I gave it to him honestly. The idea has some real problems.
It sounds like he gave him some honest feedback.
The market is oversaturated, his startup costs are way higher than he estimated, and the one thing that was supposed to make it different from competitors already exists.
I didn’t say it was a stupid idea or that he was stupid. I walked him through each concern carefully and even suggested ways he could test it small before going all in.
Wow, apparently he didn’t want honest advice.
He went quiet during the conversation and I thought he was just processing it. Then he left, and I haven’t heard from him since. That was three weeks ago.
A mutual friend reached out and told me I “crushed his dream” and that I should have been more supportive.
Some people don’t take bad news well.
When I said he literally asked for honest feedback the mutual friend said there’s a difference between honest and harsh.
I don’t think I was harsh. I think I potentially saved him from a really expensive mistake.
His friend put him in a difficult spot.
But now I’m second guessing myself because he’s one of my closest friends and I genuinely didn’t want to hurt him.
Was I wrong for actually answering the question he asked?
AITA?
It is very likely that he did save his friend from making a very costly mistake, but it might have cost him the friendship.
Let’s see what the people in the comments have to say about it.
Yup, he owed him the honest feedback. Even if it hurt.
Sign up to get our BEST stories of the week straight to your inbox.
Here are some good questions.
This was not a situation where a white lie is a good idea.
I don’t think the friend was expecting the answer he got.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a brother who doesn’t want to help his sister cover their aging father’s groceries.
His friend asked for his opinion, so he gave it to him.
He did him a favor, even if it upset him and cost him the friendship. This was a situation where tough love was appropriate.
Hopefully his friend will see it that way someday and get over it.
Enjoyed this story?
Sign up to get our BEST stories of the week straight to your inbox.
