Am I the only person who hates this imagined dichotomy between "founders" and "normals?" It assumes that non-founders are somehow lesser beings. And perhaps that's where the reluctance to talk about your business comes from: why discuss it with someone you've already assumed won't care or understand?
Look, if you're starting a business, discusss it with everyone who asks. If nothing else, it gives you practice explaining it and just maybe, that bored guy may turn out to be an expert in the field or a valuable contact. If you can't explain it, the problem is most likely you not them. Find a way to simplify the explanation without being condescending.
Honestly, I don't see how this is any harder than explaining what you do to a non-programmer.
I agree that entrepreneurs tend to be a bit self- (or at least startup-) absorbed, but I'd bet most normal people don't mind being called "normal".
In any case, the dichotomy is real, though the "non-normal" side is not restricted to startup founders. I've heard the term "real person" used as a near-synonym for "normal"; a "real person" has a job, probably has a mortgage, and is either married with children or well on the way. In other words, a "real person" is conventional. Unconventional people tend to think of "conventional" as an insult, but it's simply not the case; by definition, most people are conventional, and most of them are perfectly happy that way.
There might be no single word for what you do, so you have to explain, which might sound like you're explaining yourself (and trying to convince others, that you are successful).
Look, if you're starting a business, discusss it with everyone who asks. If nothing else, it gives you practice explaining it and just maybe, that bored guy may turn out to be an expert in the field or a valuable contact. If you can't explain it, the problem is most likely you not them. Find a way to simplify the explanation without being condescending.
Honestly, I don't see how this is any harder than explaining what you do to a non-programmer.