Friends aren't your customers

Hi there,

Recently, I read the story of a founder who shared her disappointment:

She launched a product for young parents, many of her friends were young parents… and yet, they didn’t buy.
They didn’t share her posts.
They didn’t support her launch.

She concluded that they weren’t her “real” friends.

I used to think this, but it’s wrong.

Your friends are not your customers

Friendship isn’t defined by business.
A friend isn’t “better” because they buy your product.

What matters is that they buy because they need it, not out of pity or “just to support you.”

Otherwise, that’s not validation, it’s just a disguised donation.
And as a founder, that’s not what you’re looking for.

Just because your friends buy, doesn’t mean strangers will buy (and these are the ones you want).

Don’t blame them

Most friends who aren’t entrepreneurs don’t understand the value of a like, a comment, or a share.
They don’t know how much visibility matters, and you can’t blame them for that: they have never experienced that situation.

Real friends prove themselves in other ways:

• when you need a couch to crash on,

• when you go through a personal crisis,

• when you ask for real help.

Not at the time of your launch.

Real validation

Validation comes from:

• customers who pay because they see the value,

• strangers who become your ambassadors,

• and traction from the market.

Your friends are not your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile).

And even if on paper it seems like they should be (“they’re young parents, I sell for young parents so they should buy!”), in reality there are a thousand reasons why they won’t:

• they already have another solution / they don’t need it

• they don’t have the budget,

• or simply… they don’t like it / prefer another service

And that’s fine.

The original post (French, sorry) :

👉 Don’t look for validation from your friends.
Look for it from your market.

Now that you read this, I hope you will share my newsletter to your network, I mean, you’re my friend you can do that for me, right?

See you soon,

Pauline