Why is it so hard to just say no to early customers?

When you're running a small project, every single user feels precious so saying no to a request feels like you're actively pushing them away. I remember keeping a user waiting for ages on a custom integration because I didn't want to admit I wasn't going to build it.

They eventually stopped replying and moved to another tool. Once I started giving fast, blunt answers even when it meant losing someone my workflow got so much cleaner.

Do you try to please every early user or do you draw a hard line early on?