Saying No

Growing up, my mom would always tell me the hardest thing for her was saying no.

I've got a bit of that in me too. But being in the venture capital business, I say no at least ten times a day and often more. I've gotten used to bumming people out. It's the nature of the business.

I was at a board meeting yesterday and after the meeting ended we had sandwiches with the entire senior team. It was great. I wish we'd do stuff like that more often (we meaning all the boards I am on).

We talked about a wide range of things, but one thing stuck in my mind. Apparently one of the senior team members is known for saying "the best answer to most questions is no".

I liked that. Startups can go in many directions. There's always the desire to please the customers. But knowing what you are going to do and focusing on it is so critical. Saying yes might seem like no big deal. It's only a few lines of code, right? Wrong. It's never just a few lines of code. So say no as often as you can. It's counter intuitive to the entrepreneur mindset, but it's critical.

Comments

[Rick]

"Read them and then throw them away" is 37 Signals' mantra about adding customer suggestions.

[Sean Ammirati]

Fred,

Similarly, I like to say is sales / biz dev calls that "no is the second best answer" - eg it is much better to get a 'no' than a 'maybe'

- Sean

[joshua schachter]

I recall being a lot more impressed with VCs who said either "yes" or "no" quickly than those that took forever to get back to me...

[Flint]

If you haven't read "Think Big, Act Small", it's a great read for building successful companies. One of the companies had a policy that a salesperson wasn't ever allowed to say No to a customer.

So while it might be a good philosophy early on in a company's life cycle, you'll often take products in the wrong direction if you don't listen to the customers later on.

[Tom Kirkham]

If that is 37 Signals mantra, they are stupid. I seem to remember an article recently about how IT professionals do not show much respect for users, client, and customers. Can you imagine a doctor or attorney sneering behind your back, or just doing things to screw with you?

[jeff Marks]

Great post and excellent words of wisdom. I also think it's hard because you've got to give your strategy enough time to implement and see what the results are. I think sometimes people see making alot of new choices as progress, and that can be counter-productive.

[Andy Gadiel]

Great advice...i completely forgot until i started typing this comment that I also recently blogged about the power of NO.

Amazing what the web can do to jog the memories...

http://www.gadiel.com/2006/09/power-of-no.html

[Robert Dewey]

"No" isn't always the right answer, especially when you have entrepreneurs with nothing to lose. My personal opinion is that startups should wait as long as possible before seeking funding (in fact, let the VC's approach YOU - angels are probably the best bet for first investments).

When you have funding from VC's, you might start finding that there are too many people in the "kitchen". When you're trying to make all of those chefs happy, you're bound to spoil something. I really believe 37 Signals got that one right.

I, just like Josh, am simply happy with a snappy response from VC's - even if it's only advice and not necessarily a pitch for investment. Those are the VC's that stick out in my mind and if I ever had a big-time venture, I would definitely put them on top priority. To all of the other VC's, I would rather lose the startup than go with them.

[Michael Vanderdonk]

Years ago a friend gave me a powerful method that I've passed on many times. Whenever you get a request, any request - say 'No'.

If it's something you do have to deal with, the person will ask again. If they were passing the buck, they will go elsewhere.

And on the flip side, it teaches to ask at least twice for something you want.

[Stephen L. McKay]

Your mom sounds a lot like my mom. She was, and is one of the most thoughtful and kind people I have ever known, and the lesson was one that has been a great benifit to me throughout my life.

[Tim Peter]

I think a key point here is what you're saying "no" to. Fred, I'm betting your advice comes from two specific cases common to startups:
1. Customers (or whomever) asking the startup to venture outside their sweet spot
2. Customers (or whomever) asking the startup to add features/functionality/whatever that aren't in the roadmap

In both of these cases, I agree that the answer almost always is "no." And there's a big difference between incorporating customer comments as you build out your plans and saying yes to every request that comes your way.

[Scott Yates]

As I say in my blog, it's not that hard for a VC to say no. VCs eat "no" for breakfast and then poop it all day long. That's what they do.

We do appreciate it when they say no instead of maybe, that's crucial.

But saying no to customers? Look, if your customer isn't actually paying and you are just trying to attract "eyeballs" than I suppose you can stick to your artistic vision. Whatever.

For those of us actually trying to make sales, why would we say no when a customer wants something different? All the answers here sound a lot like "ego."

[Darren Kelly, VP Marketing Collective Intellect]

Fred, with the greatest respect, I think the answer is a bit more complex for entrepreneurial companies. For those of us that are part of a senior management team, we each have to play a role. We each have to represent our constituencies to the fullest, so that as a group we come up with the right answer (this prevents the "Groupthink", mediocrity and lack of creativity that pervades many group decisions. For example, the VP Engineering should play the conservative role ("sober second thought", as it is called in Canada) about the coding & resource implications of a newly proposed project. Their job is to put a heavy dose of reality on the level of risk a project could become a quagmire. On the other hand, the VP Sales/Biz Dev/Marketing should be pushing the opportunity and ensuring the team has thought about all the potential benefits (revenue, operational learning, the potential for lucrative off-shoot ideas, how it might facilitate Corp Dev dicussions with potential acquirors, etc, etc.).

My point is - if EVERYONE on the team defaults to "No", you dramtically increase the chance the team will overlook the full potential of a new idea.

So, on behalf of all of us out there trying to dream up the next big thing that customers will find valuable, I say "YES!".

-DK

[brian]

Fred, the ability and willingness to say "no" is all about who in the prospective relationship has the leverage. If you are in the position of a buyer who has choices it is easy to say no. If you are in the position of a seller who needs to make a quota then a "no" is a problematic.

[Inactivist]

You throw away the customer suggestions, because, even though they may contain useful ideas, they're just ideas. Someone has to own the product vision; it cannot be the customers.

Reading customer suggestions are fine, as long as you don't take them as gospel - otherwise you end up chasing, but never catching, the market. Someone's gotta lead. If you aren't the leader, who is?

[Inactivist]

Um.. that should have read "Reading customer suggestions IS fine"...

Hit the Post button too soon, sorry 'bout that.

[David Armstrong]

I've made the mistake too many times in pitching an idea from paper..everybody knows the 10 page powerpoint with 30pt font....and getting some version of "no" or "wait game". I look back on the 18 months of bootstrapped efforts and realize the most important thing is "traction"...real customers..real revenue, nothing else matters. So, we don't even pitch anymore, even if we get invited. I just put all my attention to my customers, solving pain and running a business, lowering Kinko's revenue and saving trees in the process.

[john cook]

It is all about focus. And traction/momentum in a start-up is what is important. That said, staying within one's business model is key when talking w/ investors. It is important to stay very, very focused and not drift. No, is the best response for the unfocusing question.

[bootstrap bill]

I forgot about that for a while ... when I was a dev manager I was famous for saying "no", then calling from my car on way home, having thought about it some more and saying yes (sometimes). I bootstrapped a company last year and COMPLETELY got wrapped up in the yes thing. I tried to do everything for my constinuents (not always clients). Fortunately, I have recovered, and with no great (.. as in unrecoverably huge) loss of money. The company is healthy again, but Id've done well to remember to say "no" a few more times.