Ask uncomfortable questions

- When I have the opportunity to visit trade shows … or sit down with startup founders, I, well, … enjoy putting them in the hot seat. … I often will ask a series of questions. … "What's your elevator pitch? … "What makes you different? … "How are you going to make money? … "Where do you find your customers? … "How do you validate … "that customers like what you're offering?" … And so on. … And through these rapid-fire questions, … I'm able to identify areas … that haven't been fully thought through, … and I can often push into territory … when I'm asking some fairly uncomfortable questions … about decisions that were or were not made, and why. … Now sometimes, to maximize growth, … you need to stop pushing outward, … and take a minute to look inward. … You have to be willing to learn things … that you're not really thrilled to hear. … And I get it. … I've been in the hot seat before too. … But it's really important … that you get real hard questions thrown your way. … You need to get in front of people …