It’s not optional, it’s not just good to have, and it shouldn’t be low priority, feedback, is vital to success. Not everyone will like you, things won’t just click for your audience, and not every idea you have will be a home run. Don’t ignore those that can make or break your product, but rather engage them throughout its creation.

So, why do people gloss over feedback?

Feedback can be devastating. I have an idea, I think it’s great, I don’t want someone to destroy that feeling. I have seen people take this as far as not googling their “revolutionary” concept for fear of its current existence. Look at this as an opportunity to avoid wasting your time and energy on something that isn’t worth it.

Feedback can be liberating. Sometimes you have a project, which has become stagnant. You’re in this rut where you are doing something that you feel isn’t productive, but can’t motivate yourself to move out of it. Perhaps, the perspective and input someone that is distanced from the project can jar you out of it.

Feedback can be exhilarating. You have an idea but are unsure of where it may go. The process of reaching out to others, a business partner or the market, can strengthen and validate your work, which motivates you to work smarter. Early on in the process this can be crucial to flushing out what is you want to do but more importantly why it will succeed.

Where does ThreeFortyNine fit in? A space where you can gather informal and formal feedback, from individuals from different backgrounds and with varying levels of experience, is valuable- very valuable. You avoid the pitfalls of only bouncing ideas off clones of yourself and this creates an environment where both giving and receiving feedback becomes second nature.

It doesn’t mean it is always positive, but I guess that’s why they added the keg.