Jeff Wenzel says founders mistake polite investors for interested ones. Real interest looks like interruptions, tough questions, and pushback. Politeness is just nodding and smiling. Friction means they're actually thinking about your idea.
Every founder needs to learn this difference. Interest sounds active. Politeness sounds supportive. Politeness is nodding, smiling, saying that is interesting. Interest interrupts you. It asks for numbers you did not show. It challenges assumptions. It pulls the idea apart. Many founders mistake politeness for traction. They leave the meeting encouraged but without momentum. Strong founders look for friction, questions, pushback, energy. Because investors who challenge you are investors imagining themselves involved. Silence is comfortable. Pushback is commitment-forming. If you are raising capital, follow for insights that help you recognize real signals, not surface ones.
