A paying user asked me to add a feature that would break a product's core direction.

Last month a paying user asked for a feature that would directly contradict the main use case of a product I work on. Not a small addition a change that would make it worse for every other user. I said no politely. He didn't cancel but he also stopped giving feedback and I've been second guessing that decision since.

The part nobody talks about is that "sticking to your vision" sounds clean in theory but in practice it means watching a paying user go quiet and not knowing if you were right.

So for those who've been in this exact spot: when a paying user asks for something that goes against a product's core do you say no and risk losing them or add it and risk the product? And the harder question: what did you actually do the last time it happened not what you think you should have done?