Always consider the messenger
Take time to consume as much information as possible before forming an opinion - then allow your unique circumstances operate as a filter
I was reading an article that said it was a pointless endeavor to develop connections with investors. The writer was a founder (or maybe a former founder?) and they were saying how for a previous company they received advice to build relationships with investors before you need them so you aren't popping up out of thin air to ask for money.
While I acknowledge that blanket, general statements are never really good for everyone - I also know that by writing the piece...the person made a blanket and general statement. By making it using such absolute language, there are going to be a slew of entrepreneurs who will be hurt by taking it as gospel.
So while I understand what the author was going for, I do want to encourage any founders to always take everything with a grain of salt (including this post). Everyone has a set of preconceptions that function like shaded glasses when it comes to how they view the world. They are so used to their own unique perspective, that they assume that everyone will have that same perspective if given the exact circumstances that created their experiences.
Not so.
In fact, you may find wild, polar-opposite outcomes. For example, I've heard that advice to build relationships with investors before raising, and I simply cannot get one to answer a cold email. How do you build a relationship with people that are afraid to meet anyone outside of their direct connections? My response to that experience isn't to tell everyone to forget about building those relationships, it is that investors have a very small aperture which makes them blind to a myriad of opportunities. Their LPs (investors in VC funds) likely know this and accept the risk that it will cause them to miss opportunities left and right while they focus straight ahead on their thesis.
The above realization does not make me feel like I shouldn't take the time to build relationships. It does give me the context of knowing that many aren't open to that when someone doesn't look like them or come from the same circles.
Knowing the background of the messenger is important. You can't generalize an entire group of people based on the actions of one person. But you also don't want to discount their experience because they are biased.
The point is, you aren't likely to get good feedback when someone tells everyone something without acknowledging their own unique background and experiences which might cause them to prioritize things differently than others in different situations. Gather as much information as you can, from various perspectives, before making a decision on what to believe and how to move forward.
Always consider the messenger.