Episode 155: Your Baby Might Be Ugly. That’s Good News.

Entrepreneurs hear a lot about believing in themselves. And, that’s fair enough. You need a slightly unreasonable amount of belief to build something from nothing.

But Kathryn Finney, Founder & CEO of BUILD, venture investor and bestselling author of Build The Damn Thing, offers the equally important counterweight: sometimes, you need someone to tell you your baby is ugly.

Not your actual baby. Your business. Because if belief gets you started, truth is what helps you improve.

Here are the key insights from her conversation on the latest episode of The Wealthy Entrepreneur. 

It’s Not About You

One of Kathryn’s clearest lessons is: “It’s not about you.”

Founders regularly confuse what they want to build with what customers actually need. You might adore the product, believe the service is brilliant and probably spent months perfecting it.

None of that creates a business. A business exists when someone has a problem, your solution helps solve it, and they are willing to pay enough for that solution to produce a profit.

If they will not? Like Kathryn says: It’s a hobby.

That distinction matters because passion can make founders remarkably good at ignoring evidence.

The Ugly Baby Test

Then comes feedback and Kathryn calls this the “ugly baby test.”

Founders become, naturally so, quite emotionally attached to what they create. That’s only fair - you’ve built it, you’ve sacrificed a lot for it and you’ve spent every minute imagining what it could become. What’s more, the people closest to you often reinforce that belief because they want you to succeed.

Customers, though, have a different job.

They tell you what actually works. Sometimes they do that politely, sometimes not so much. 

• They refuse to buy
• They cancel
• They tell you the pricing makes no sense
• They ignore the feature you thought would change everything

Sure, that’s uncomfortable but it’s also incredibly valuable.

The goal is not to avoid criticism. It is to hear the truth quickly enough that you still have time and money to do something about it.

Feedback Is About the Product, Not Your Worth

Now, turning the feedback into something useful requires doing something difficult: Taking your ego out of the room.

When someone rejects your offer, they are not necessarily rejecting you. They are reacting to what you built. If you just lean into that distinction, you can get curious instead of defensive. Ask these questions instead: 

• Why did they say no?
• What did they misunderstand?
• What were they expecting?
• What would make the solution genuinely useful?

Once the ego drops, feedback becomes data and data gives you somewhere to go next.

Build a Board for the Person Behind the Business

Kathryn’s other powerful idea is that founders need a personal advisory board - a board that’s “in the business of you as a person”. 

And, honestly, her description of who comprises that board sounds like a dream: 

• Someone who makes you laugh
• Someone who protects your time
• Someone who tells you the truth
• Someone who listens when you simply need to vent

Because founders spend so much time building systems around their companies that they often forget to build support around themselves. And that matters.

Celebrate Before Moving the Finish Line

There is one final piece founders often miss: To celebrate the wins. 

Kathryn encourages entrepreneurs to intentionally mark the wins: 

• The first customer
• The first month breaking even
• The big hire
• The milestone that once felt impossible

Entrepreneurs are extraordinarily good at reaching one mountain and immediately staring at the next. But sometimes, it’s valuable, not just for you but for the business, to look back. 

The Final Thought

You, as an entrepreneur, are building something difficult.

You will get bruised.

You may discover the baby is ugly.

That is okay.

Listen, improve, keep good people around you, and remember to enjoy the moments when the thing actually works.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here:

Spotify: https://go.fame.so/kathryn-finney-spotify

Apple: https://go.fame.so/kathryn-finney-apple
YouTube: https://go.fame.so/kathryn-finney-youtube

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