<i>I just told my dad. He told me my idea was, ahem, crazy and that I should go get a job at Google. </i><p>My step-dad is 90 and has done a lot of cool stuff. I admire the heck out of him. He's still sharp and has great advice about everything else.<p>But I've found with startups and technology consulting? I'm better off doing the exact opposite of whatever he says. It's like the world he grew up in had exactly the opposite paradigms from the world he is in now.<p>So with friendships and sharing comes a lot of unspoken assumptions. Be sure the people you share with or have the party with have some idea of how technology businesses work (or are willing to listen to you). Otherwise you could either get bad "quit now and do something productive" advice , or worse yet, blanket acceptance without an honest critique. After all, partners are also there to tell you that you're going off the rails.