“What does this remind you of?”

That's a much more useful way to get feedback than asking if we like it.

We make first impressions and long-term judgments based on the smallest of clues. We scan before we dive in, we see the surface before we experience the substance.

And while the emotions that are created by your work aren't exactly like something else, they rhyme.

It could be your business model, your haircut or the vibrato on your guitar.

"What does this remind you of" opens the door for useful conversations that you can actually do something about. Yes, be original, but no, it's not helpful to be so original that we have no idea what you're doing.