What's your strategy for overcoming startup failure and rejection?

Nothing happens overnight. U have a vision and u got to keep going. Trust your instincts. No one knows ur vision better than you do. Learn from your failures. Keep fixed costs low and hire hustlers, people who can go above and beyond. Avoid having top heavy departments and focus on doers who are ambitious to grow with the company. And finally, trust yourself. The more unique your vision, the more difficult the path to success will be. So keep going and don’t lose your FIRE!

Top VCs are likely to see 1000 pitches for the 2-4 that they fund. While you are awesome, keep in mind that your chance of success on any given pitch is not going to be 100%. View the pitch as a chance to gain feedback from the VC. It is like you have a free hour of consulting with a top expert. Incorporate the feedback, to the extent it makes any sense to you or your team, in your next pitches.

In fighting rejection, I adopted a mantra: "The worst thing you can hear is a 'no'." This mindset outlined the limits of the downside while highlighting the substantial potential for success. Rejecting rejection itself became an integral part of my process, not the final destination. This perspective forged a path to resilience and ultimately paved the way for growth and achievement. Moreover, it’s crucial to acknowledge that if entrepreneurship were a walk in the park, if success came effortlessly, everyone would be in the game. This underscores the importance of recognizing that true success in entrepreneurship is the product of unwavering perseverance. Their tenacity sets them apart in this challenging but rewarding endeavor.

By understanding who you are as a founder and identifying what drives you (hint: the core issue you keep coming back to solve) you gain resilience, despite failures along the way. Learn to fail fast. That requires understanding which elements of what you launch are features and benefits and which are part of your brand’s DNA. Stay curious and receptive to feedback. And most importantly, remember periods of rest and reflection are vital to your growth. Build in new ways, with new people and express your gratitude often. Communicate your observations, your needs and your perspective to invite people in to your journey and you’ll build an incredible network of support. That’s success.

People are not afraid of failure. They are afraid of what failure makes them look like in the eyes of other people. If you are afraid of failure, it means you care too much about what people think about you. Great news: nobody cares. While you are thinking about what they think of you, they are thinking about what you think of them. You are not the center of the world. Nobody really cares of what you are doing to be honest. Once you realize that you simply focus on what's need to be done to reach your goals and become 10x faster.

A lot of success in business is simply persistence. Being resilient and persevering will keep you in the game long enough so that you will be around when the right deal is presented. "Energy and persistence conquer all things."--Benjamin Franklin

Starting with why is always a way to be authentic and genuine. Of course, survival is key, but even more so is purpose. For a founder, having deep purpose and passion is inspiring. It helps them recruit people to the team to build the product and push through hard problems. It is what helps you on those days when you get a no.

Sometimes back I wrote a research paper on Earliest Validated Learning. Usually people validate the solution of problem which is commonly known as MVP. However the very first step should be to validate the problem itself. It will help to understand following 1. Is it a real problem? 2. Is it a problem for which people are looking for solutions? 3. How much people are willing to pay comfortably for the solution? 4. What is the target set of customers. Answers of above will help to understand if 1. should you resolve given problem 2. Your solution costs you lesser than the customer willingness to pay 3. Would you be able to scale it up. It will also help to vouch for vc funding pitch as you have data. In brief VALIDATE VALIDATE

Facing tough times? Learn to bounce back with resilience and keep going with perseverance. Resilience isn't just about toughing it out; it's finding joy in small victories, setting achievable goals, and leaning on those who get your struggles. Perseverance? It's your dedication to pushing through, even when things get crazy. Connect with your passion, remember why you started, and picture the impact you want to make. Together, resilience and perseverance are your dynamic duo, turning setbacks into steps toward your dreams. So, when life throws curveballs, use these skills to not just survive but thrive. You got this!

This is one of the biggest philosophical topics in the startup world. Perseverance needs to be based on evidence, not on ego. Clichés like "I'm not a quitter" are plain naive and stupid; starting a company requires efficiency, humility, and fast decision-making. I think the most recurrent attitude in successful founders is ignoring (emotionally) the no's and becoming nurtured by the very few yes. A no is an opportunity to gain understanding and evolve, but is not a goal, and shouldn't be romanticized. Use these questions: Based on what do I determine my own value? From the startup point of view, why should we keep doing it? Is it me not understanding the world or the world not understanding me?

AIRBNB is a great example of how customer feedback on an MVP creates success. Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia moved to San Francisco where they shared a three-room-apartment. When a design conference came to town in 2007, they saw an opportunity to earn some extra money by renting out their floor space, and called it Airbed and Breakfast. After two years of experimenting and failing, they focussed on New York as a popular tourist destination and had meetings with their New York-based users: —both hosts and guests. These meetings were crucial in making solid offerings with that included professional pictures of good-looking spaces. The basis of success of AIRBNB, was laid fifteen years ago, when the founders connected to their users.

When you're starting a business, it's important to stay flexible and open to changes. Don't get too attached to your initial idea because that might make it hard to adapt. Learn from feedback and mistakes, and be ready to make changes when needed. Keep refining and improving as you go along.

I have had teammates joke that I will have "what problem are we trying to solve" inscribed on my tombstone. It is the fundamental question, as if you don't drive value and solve a clear problem, you have no business. Iterating means listening to customers to confirm you are either adding clear value or not. If you aren't solving the problem quickly and clearly, then "iterate or pivot" becomes a much-needed next step.

Pivoting can also mean that instead of building your own marketing & sales force, you early on identify potential partners who will benefit from adding your offering to their present offering. Do not underestimate the capital needed to build your own marketing and sales force / many times a much higher investment than in the cost for research and product development!

Paraphrasing from Annie Duke, whether it's about a product, feature, strategy or the business itself, it's beneficial to distinguish between quitting and folding. Quitting is giving up on "too many obstacles" or "too much adversity". Folding is living to fight another day. Only you will know the difference, and that's everyone who matters.

Growth mindset requires humility, a curiosity to learn and self confidence. - Humility to accept that one can be wrong - Curiosity to look for better ways of doing things and - Self confidence to try new things and not be afraid of failing.

Imagine your mindset as a superhero cape – a growth mindset is the one that lets you believe you can get better at anything. It's about embracing challenges, learning from mistakes, and staying strong when things get tough. Unlike the fixed mindset that makes you think you're stuck with whatever talents or luck you were born with, a growth mindset says, "Hey, I can improve through effort and feedback!" So, when life throws curveballs, remember your superhero cape, welcome the lessons, and keep going. It's not about being perfect; it's about growing, learning, and becoming the hero of your own story.

Think of developing a growth mindset like gearing up for an adventure. It's about embracing every twist and turn with enthusiasm, knowing each step, whether forward or backward, is part of the journey to greatness. Just like explorers who relish uncharted territories, in the startup landscape, each challenge is a chance to map out new skills and perspectives. Consider the stories of giants like Tesla or SpaceX – their growth is a series of learning from what didn't work and then daring to dream even bigger. So, when you hit a bump, don't see it as a setback; see it as a chance to grow, innovate, and edge closer to your grand vision. That's the spirit of a true growth mindset – always hungry for the next adventure and ever-ready to rise.

Self-reflection is a significant component of a growth mindset for me. If you can't properly reflect on why certain things succeeded or failed, you won't be able to establish habits and a culture that is consistently geared towards growth.

A growth mindset requires a hunger for positive role models. Pride is the stumbling block to growth. If you are coachable and pick good coaches, you will go far.

As a leader, stive to align institutional goals with personal triumphs. Extend that to yourself. Then the whole team will be pulling together and successes will be celebrated.

While a lot of people compare founding or working at a startup as a rollercoaster, I like to think of it as being on a boat subject to the tides. Riding a rollercoaster, you have no agency -- all you can do is passively sit there and wait for the ride to end. But sailing a boat, you have to learn how to navigate dangerous waters and make use of the tides. When the tide is high, such as when you closed some large deals or secured a round of funding, it will hide a ton of the dangers that lurk below the surface. It's OK to celebrate achievements, but don't get too carried away -- know that there will be an inevitable low tide. Likewise, don't fall into despair if a key customer cancels or a key employee leaves. The tide will rise again.

You need to celebrate even those tiny victories, as it helps you maintaining motivation and a positive outlook, when the new challenges appear. Take time to acknowledge your milestones, regardless of their size. Not only does this boost your morale, but it also helps you reinforce a sense of accomplishment and progress in your entrepreneurial journey. Celebrate with your team, as it creates a sense of unity and inspires collective motivation. Celebrations can serve as a reminder of the impact of your hard work, driving you to push even harder toward future goals. Moreover, celebrating achievements is a great way to maintain work-life balance, offering a break from the intense startup grind.

Hey, don't forget to give yourself a high-five! Celebrating your wins, no matter how small, is like a power-up button. It's not just about the end goal but appreciating the journey and how much you've grown. Treat yourself, share the good news, or just take a moment to soak it in. These celebrations aren't just about the victories; they're like little anchors helping you ride out the startup rollercoaster. So, when things get tough, remember those moments. They're not just pats on the back; they're reminders of your value and all the awesome potential you've got. You're crushing it! 🎉

Human life journey is full of challenges - one strives with hope at each stage. Recognition brings fruition to the hope and joy of success. We must be kind hearted to recognize and celebrate success of fellow workers and be proud of ones own success. Great leaders are the one who help fellow being progress and emerge successful in life.

I often used the 4Bs Model as follows: 1. Believe: Believe in what you are doing, and sell your belief to your team, investors and customers 2. Behave: Behave and Believe must be interconnected and consistent 3. Belong: If you can make people believe what you are doing based on your consistent behaviors, they will support you no matter 4. Be a Brand Ambassador: be yourself of what you believe

Failure Analysis without Retribution. Speed is the defining trait of startups and perseverance and resilience are essential DNA. Keep moving forward, try many ways, solve an easier problem, sell before you build because failure is cheap, ... But most importantly be on the same page with your team about what needs to change after failure. Brainstorm with them. Get their buy in.

Failure should be reframed as a critical building block to success. Since it's impossible to succeed without failing at some point, we should actively seek it out. Failing fast and failing forward are good philosophies; lets fail quickly, learn from it, and reach the success that lies on the other side.

I had 259 failures last year. Keeping track of my failures gamifies the experience and allows me to embrace discomfort. My goal for this year is 1,000+ 🥅 More failures = more successes 🙌

It’s real simple. Offer something people want and need. Make them aware. Smother customers with love. Be the best. And keep going.