The Problem With Listening to Everyone

THE LEAN LESSON

Not all advice is created equal.

Some advice is outdated – What worked for someone in 2010 might not work today.
Some advice is biased – A VC might push you to raise funding because that’s their job.
Some advice isn’t relevant to your stage – A billion-dollar CEO’s strategy won’t always apply to a startup with 10 users.

The best founders listen to advice, but don’t let it control them.

How the Best Founders Handle Advice

Elon Musk takes advice—but only after deeply analyzing it.
Jeff Bezos is famous for making quick, “disagree and commit” decisions.
Paul Graham tells founders to trust their instincts over investor opinions.

Takeaway: Advice is helpful, but only if you know how to filter it.

How to Avoid Advice Overload

Here’s how to make sure advice helps you instead of holding you back:

1. Prioritize experienced voices – Ignore advice from people who haven’t built something themselves.
2. Ask yourself: “Does this fit my startup’s stage?” – What works for a Series B startup won’t always work for a pre-seed one.
3. Test quickly instead of debating – If you’re stuck between two strategies, run an experiment instead of overthinking.
4. Stick to your gut when needed – Sometimes, your intuition knows better than 10 mentors combined.

YOUTUBE TREASURE

👉My Pick: I Built 4 Businesses In a Row To Show It’s not Luck