The harshest reality in this circle is: being praised as "very promising" often means you're the furthest from monetization. Because those who praise you with words can turn around and act as if they never said anything. The true dividing line depends on whether someone is willing to put their reputation on the line for you.

After being in this industry for a while, you'll see the full picture of this cycle.

Act One: Applause all around.

They say your ideas are innovative, praise your technical reliability, commend your stable team, and predict an unlimited future. Likes, comments, shares—everything seems lively. And then? Nothing happens afterward.

You realize: praise is the cheapest consensus in the world. Zero cost, zero commitment, no decision needed, just a form of "spectator admiration."

The turning point comes. When you say that sentence—"So, shall we collaborate now"—the situation changes completely.

Suddenly, the voices of those who liked your posts disappear. Instead, a series of questions arise: What are the collaboration terms? What about the audit report? Have the procedures been completed? Has there been a review meeting? It all stalls on a classic line: "We'll consider it internally."

Listen to what this phrase really means: I’m not ready to endorse you yet.

What does endorsement mean? It’s not liking, it’s taking responsibility. It’s daring to write your name in the meeting minutes, listing you as a core partner in the contract, being able to tell leadership or clients "This is my decision, I will bear the consequences" when system issues occur.

For any decision-maker, this weight can be overwhelming. So human nature guides them to take shortcuts: choose a solution that, although outdated, costly, and not innovative enough, is "used by the entire industry."

Why? Because "industry consensus" is like a talisman. Once something goes wrong, you can say, "See, everyone does this, it’s an industry-wide problem"—and responsibility is infinitely diluted.