Question of the Day?
How many “No, thank you(s)” should you receive before you give up?
True story: I pitched ~550 investors and ~60 came on board.
Do the math.
That means I was told “No, thank you” (or ghosted) almost 500 times!
Instead of giving up, I went all in.
I liquidated everything, ditched a salary, and moved into my parents’ apartment just to be able to continue chasing after my vision.
Now, my early-stage investment firm, Conscience, just finalized our 10th investment in the fund last week.
We have hit the target raise, built a comprehensive scout program and community (ask me about it if you’re interested), and are pioneering the intersection of consumer and science in venture.
I’m not the only one who heard “No” hundreds of times (or much more) without giving up.
Did you know…
1. Robert Goddard (the father of modern rocketry) was mocked by the scientific community, as they considered his ideas around liquid propulsion rockets to be impossible.
2. Thomas Edison (American inventor) failed to create a working light bulb over one thousand times before success illuminated his path.
3. Henry Ford (king of transportation transformation) founded the Detroit Automobile Company. It went bankrupt fast. But that failure led to the creation of Ford Motor Company, which had slightly better results. 😉
4. Arianna Huffington (Co-Founder of The Huffington Post) had her second book rejected by 36 publishers.
5. Jeff Bezos (yes, that Jeff Bezos) admits to failing to the tune of “billions of dollars” with ventures like Pets .com and Kozmo .com.
So, if you’re out there trying to figure out where to go next after failing multiple times, or being handsomely rejected, dust yourself off and try again, just like these people did.
The world needs you and your ideas.
