That time I told a friend their startup idea was 'genius' to be nice

Last week at a coffee shop in Denver, my buddy pitched me his app idea - it was basically a calendar but with emojis. I nodded and said 'yeah, that could work' just to avoid an awkward conversation. Fast forward to yesterday, he quit his job to build it full time and now he's asking me to invest $2,000. I feel like a total jerk for not being honest from the start. Has anyone else accidentally encouraged a bad idea and regretted it later?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliot_gibson275d ago

Oh man, that's a rough spot to be in... your buddy is about to learn the hard way that an emoji calendar isn't exactly the next Uber. At least he could have pitched something with a little more potential, like a toaster that texts you when your bread is done. Maybe you can still save face by telling him you were being sarcastic and see if he catches on. But honestly, $2,000 is a cheap price for a lesson in why you should never ask your friends for business advice at a coffee shop.

angela_harris5d ago

Hmm, I see it a little different though... the emoji calendar thing is actually pretty clever for a niche audience, like people who love planners and stickers. It's not going to be a billion dollar idea, but it could make decent pocket money if he markets it right on Etsy or something. And $2,000 isn't that bad if it gets him a real product to sell and some experience under his belt.

piper_kim5d ago

@elliot_gibson27 made a good point about your buddy needing to learn his own lesson. But here's what I'm wondering - did he actually quit his job just because of one comment you made at a coffee shop? Or has he been talking about this idea for a while and your compliment was just the push he needed? There's a big difference between someone who genuinely believes in their product and someone who jumped off a cliff because a friend smiled and nodded. What was his reaction when you told him you couldn't invest $2,000? If he got angry or defensive, then he was already too deep in his own hype to hear the truth anyway.