Ideas come easily. Staying through the messy middle — that's rare.
Everyone loves the idea stage. It's exciting, clean, all upside on a whiteboard. What's harder to find is someone who sticks around once it gets messy — the half-broken version that doesn't work yet and might not go anywhere for a while.
That's the real filter for who's worth building with. Not who liked your pitch. Who's still there in the middle, when there's no pitch to give.
If someone in your life shows up for that unglamorous part — that's worth more than any idea.
4