Still, I've been part of a couple of failed projects before I set out on my own and I'm pretty sure that I would have fared a lot worse if not for my prior experience. That saved me a ton of time and money.

I still found plenty of 'original' mistakes to make though :)

As others have pointed out, being able to give up on an idea that won't fly is part of being an entrepreneur.

Don't be too dismissive; he is honest, writes well, and at least has the "business sense" to make an honest public resignation to fate. A calculated show of weakness is strength, specially in a commercial entity.

You have too much emotional bonding with your project at that stage to see clearly.

The problem is that plenty of people will isolate themselves from criticism and actively reaffirm their connections with people that tell them what they want to hear (if only because they don't want to lose their friendship).

Giving up on ideas that don't fly is probably an integral part of every successful entrepreneur.

Just like successful VCs will turn down almost all of the 'maybes' in order to be able to concentrate on the winners. Why go after the high hanging fruits first ? It simply makes no business sense.

Failure analysis is the hallmark of solid engineering, it allows you to go forward instead of being stuck in the same place.

Whether you're looking at an airplane, a business or a piece of software, the same principles will apply.

Of course there is no point in continuously reading about the same modes of failure, especially not if those have already been 'dealt' with.