You might not know this, or maybe you do... and you haven't really given it any thought.
But the difference between a startup that gets funded and a startup that fails isn't always just because of the idea or innovation.
It's often due to the conviction in the face of rejection.
Most of the founders I've coached have heard "no" at least a dozen times.
And let me tell you - the average startup pitches to 40+ investors before securing funding.
Let that sink in… that is 40+ big NO’s.
Yet so many founders treat that first rejection as a death sentence for their dreams.
And that’s just crazy.
The Problem
Here's the thing: treating rejection as failure creates a dangerous spiral. It erodes your confidence, weakens your pitch delivery, and can kill a fundable company before it ever has a real chance.
Sadly I have seen way too many founders give up after a handful of meetings, convinced their idea isn't good enough.
The Rejection Mythology
The startup world has created a mythology around rejection that hurts founders. We celebrate the overnight success stories while hiding the messy middle - the 40, 50, sometimes 100 investor meetings that came before the "yes."
This creates a dangerous misconception: that fundable ideas get funded quickly, and if yours isn't, something must be fundamentally wrong.
When we got our first investor rejection, I was thrilled. Great - finally we can get some insights!
Because rejection isn't failure. Rejection is data. Rejection is refinement. Each "no" brings you closer to understanding what investors truly value.
I even remember when I finished University, most top managment consultancy firms didn't want to hire student who had never failed an exam. Because they didn't know the feeling of failure. And more importantly - they don't have the data on what went wrong and how to fix it to next time.
How This Hurts Your Chances
Immediate Impacts
When you internalize rejection as failure, your confidence visibly drops in the next meeting. Investors can sense hesitation, uncertainty, and desperation. These emotions leak into your voice, your body language, and your answers.
Long-term Effects
Founders who don't reframe rejection often exit the fundraising process prematurely. They settle for less favorable terms, pivot unnecessarily, or abandon viable businesses entirely.
Hidden Costs
Every rejection contains valuable intelligence about your pitch, your market positioning, or investor concerns. When you retreat in defeat instead of analyzing feedback, you leave that intelligence on the table.
Missed Opportunities
The 41st investor meeting could be the one that changes everything. But you'll never know if you stopped at 30.
The Solution: Reframe Rejection as Research
Step 1: Separate the "No" from Your Identity
A rejection of your pitch is not a rejection of you or your vision. It's one person's perspective at one moment in time. Investors pass on deals for dozens of reasons that have nothing to do with your company's potential - portfolio conflicts, fund timing, sector focus, and more.
Step 2: Mine Every Meeting for Insights
After every pitch, ask yourself: What questions did they push back on? Where did they seem confused? What objections came up repeatedly? These patterns are gold. They show you exactly where your pitch needs work.
Step 3: Iterate Between Meetings
Your pitch should evolve with every conversation. Refine your answers. The founders who win aren't the ones who never fall. They're the ones who rise right back.
Step 4: Build Rejection into Your Timeline
If the average startup needs 40+ meetings, plan for 50. Schedule more meetings than you think you need. Create a pipeline that assumes most conversations won't convert. This isn't pessimism - it's strategic.
Practical Application
So here's what I tell founders who are deep in the rejection trenches:
Track your feedback systematically. Create a simple spreadsheet with investor name, date, key objections raised, and questions that stumped you. Review it weekly to spot patterns.
Update your answer after every second meeting. Batch your learnings and implement changes. Don't change everything after one meeting, but don't wait until the end of your fundraise either.
And if they don’t understand your innovation - your pitch isn't good enough - don’t be so stubborn. Hire a coach!
Celebrate the process, not just the outcome. Every meeting you complete is progress. Every objection you learn to handle is an asset. The reps matter more than any single result.
The Bottom Line
Every investor meeting in your fundraise affects how you show up in the next one. Here's what you need to remember:
Your resilience is your competitive advantage.
The founders who win aren't the ones who never fall. They're the ones who never stay down.
Rejection isn't the opposite of success. It's the pathway to it.
Your Next Step
Now it's time to reframe your last rejection. Pull up the notes from your most recent investor meeting. Write down the three biggest objections or concerns they raised. Then ask yourself: how can I address each of these in my next pitch?
One Last Thing….
Just because you get a YES doesn't mean that you should accept it.
Remember, it's a two-way street.
Once funded, you have entered marital status.
So it's crucial that you ask your questions.
You need to do your due diligence on them.
If you want inspiration - it was my first thing to write about - you can find it here.
That's all for this week.
Hope you enjoyed it! And feel free to share it with anyone that needs extra support in their fundraising journey.