"A year ago, I was talking to a fellow start-up founder and I realized how much he likes to stick with his ideas.... I wondered: is this passion or simply stubbornness?"

The whole article is based on a false premise imo. There are a myriad of reasons why I would, or wouldn't listen to a suggestion from someone else.

The best I can do at least, is to listen to everyone, and try the often repeated suggestions, but if you are implementing every whim a customer suggests, you probably aren't operating optimally.