How Rejection Will Make You a Better Entrepreneur
Over 8 months, Apple rejected my app 7 times — now thousands use it.
I still remember the moment; it was late February 2019, and I was sat with my family when the notification popped up on my phone: ‘The status of your app has changed to Pending Developer Release’. After months and months of gruelling work, Apple had finally accepted my debut app to the App Store — on my 8th attempt.
To say that I was ecstatic would be an understatement. Since then, my app, Veggie Alternatives, has secured me international interviews, ranked in the App Store’s Top 20 in its category, and seen me nominated for a Great British Entrepreneur Award. Today, it’s used by thousands. But I’m certain that none of this success would’ve come without the constant rejection during the pre-release period — and after it too.
At first, being rejected by app platforms, journalists, firms, and the like was immensely disheartening. At 17, I felt that the rejection meant that my hours of hard work had been for nothing and that ultimately, my project was condemned to failure. Once or twice, I considered giving up altogether.
But it’s how we cope with this rejection and our attitude towards it that is crucial; rejection should serve to motivate us towards bettering ourselves and our entrepreneurial endeavours, not kill our spirit. On that note, here are my top 3 ways in which rejection will, in the long run, make you a better entrepreneur:
1. Rejection gives you the opportunity to improve your startup during the pre-release period.
Reasons for rejection should be considered an entrepreneur’s gold. Before your release, they often provide you with high-quality, constructive feedback on your project that can only be used to improve your startup. These are tips unique to you and put the whole concept of learning-from-experience in action.
When I first submitted Veggie Alternatives to the App Store, it was self-admittedly substandard. I was naive and believed that Apple’s acceptance standards would be similar to those not-so-high that I’d encountered when first publishing the app to the Google Play Store.
I was wrong — but that was a good thing. Over the 8 months of rejection, the numerous reformulations made and new features added improved the app considerably — and eventually saw it released. I’d go as far as to say that very little of the success it has experienced since could have come without the rejections beforehand.
2. Rejection enhances your knowledge of your industry and the competition you face.
Often when rejected by journalists or firms when asking for their collaboration or support, I would hear of similar startups that had been accepted instead of mine. Even when I didn’t win after being nominated for a Great British Entrepreneur Award — essentially a form of rejection — I was able to see my competition in both my industry and my category.
I must’ve emailed over a thousand journalists over the last year, and through being declined and ignored countless times, I was led to further research those who were winning out over me. This, and similar knowledge, helped me transform my design and promotion strategies.
Now, often I’m approached by journalists for interviews — instead of the reverse. One thing which I’ve learnt is that the wider-awareness of your market and the new press strategies which rejection often leads to can be used greatly to the entrepreneur’s advantage — and so being rejected today can markedly improve your chances of success tomorrow.
3. Rejection makes you a more determined individual.
An article about rejection wouldn’t be complete without the aspect of it that many see as most important — the impact on the individual. If we ignore the cliché, we have a choice to make when rejected: to accept defeat and give up or to reinforce our self-belief and bounce-back ‘harder’.
If we interpret it in a beneficial way — that is, to choose the latter option — we can use rejection to our advantage. We can use failures in our endeavours to corroborate our belief in ourselves and our projects and to motivate us towards those tough goals we set for ourselves.
In essence, standing up to rejection begets a life skill: perseverance. And that is how rejection will make you a better entrepreneur.
Veggie Alternatives, an app by AYUSH Apps, is available to download for free on the App Store and Google Play today.
