Rejection, Redirection, and Resilience as a founder
Rejection, redirection and resilience. These are 3 R’s you’re probably familiar with as a founder, but how comfortable are you with them?
Rejection can feel soul-destroying. It can feel personal, devastating, and it can feel like the end of the road. Founders are, by nature, invested emotionally in their start-up, it’s their baby, it’s the summative production of their ideas and passions. When experiencing rejection, whether that be rejection from a bank loan or VC rejections, it can feel all-consuming and crushing. hit you hard.
‘Rejection is redirection’ is a well known quote, adapted from the thoughts of Bryant McGill. An important mantra to live by when faced with rejection from VC’s when raising funds.
Resilience is the capacity of people to deal with stress and adverse events, or the flexibility in response to changing situational demands. It’s the psychological ability to bounce back from rejection. It’s important to remember that resilience does not mean that you will not feel deflated, disappointed or upset with the situation, it just means that you have the ability to bounce back after! Let’s take a look at how we can build resilience to cope when faced with rejection during your founder journey.
Building resilience as an individual:
Make it a mindset
Adopting a growth mindset will help you bounce back from set-backs. Seeing each obstacle as a lesson, and as room for learning and development, will build up your psychological resilience.
Make it a habit
Developing resilience as a personal habit is rooted in being okay with change. Learn how to improvise, practise spontaneity and letting go of preconceived ideas and agendas. Habitually developing your behaviour to accept change will support you in bouncing back from adversity.
Building resilience as a start-up:
Ask for feedback
Feedback is so important not only for learning and development, but also for peace of mind. Being able to hear why you were rejected and where that came from, can set racing thoughts at bay. Understanding the thinking behind the decision can put things into perspective and allow for clarity of mind.
Hear the feedback, reflect on it, and use it wisely into actionable steps to grow.
Embrace change
Get comfortable with change. Goals and vision are crucial for alignment in a start-up, but being able to reflect upon and harness change can also set you apart. Taking rejections, reflecting upon them, being aware that your feelings are a normal reaction to set-back but still learning from them, and embracing the redirection it grants you with.
No matter what forms of rejection you are faced with as a founder, they will be tough. Entrepreneurship is a path that doesn’t shy away from rejection. But it is important to be mindful that this rejection is rarely ever personal to you. It may feel as though this rejection was a target at a hit at you and who you are, but it’s unlikely to be rooted there. Be sure to separate yourself from your business here, and recognise that it’s probably not personal.
When faced with rejection, remember these three things.
Get rooted in reality. Accept what is in your control, and what is not.
Find feedback and meaning. Collate the information behind why the rejection happened.
Embrace change, see it as a new challenge.
Written by: Dani Olliffe, Psychological Well-being Associate
Rejection, Redirection, and Resilience as a founder
Rejection, redirection and resilience. These are 3 R’s you’re probably familiar with as a founder, but how comfortable are you with them?
Rejection can feel soul-destroying. It can feel personal, devastating, and it can feel like the end of the road. Founders are, by nature, invested emotionally in their start-up, it’s their baby, it’s the summative production of their ideas and passions. When experiencing rejection, whether that be rejection from a bank loan or VC rejections, it can feel all-consuming and crushing. hit you hard.
‘Rejection is redirection’ is a well known quote, adapted from the thoughts of Bryant McGill. An important mantra to live by when faced with rejection from VC’s when raising funds.
Resilience is the capacity of people to deal with stress and adverse events, or the flexibility in response to changing situational demands. It’s the psychological ability to bounce back from rejection. It’s important to remember that resilience does not mean that you will not feel deflated, disappointed or upset with the situation, it just means that you have the ability to bounce back after! Let’s take a look at how we can build resilience to cope when faced with rejection during your founder journey.
Building resilience as an individual:
Make it a mindset
Adopting a growth mindset will help you bounce back from set-backs. Seeing each obstacle as a lesson, and as room for learning and development, will build up your psychological resilience.
Make it a habit
Developing resilience as a personal habit is rooted in being okay with change. Learn how to improvise, practise spontaneity and letting go of preconceived ideas and agendas. Habitually developing your behaviour to accept change will support you in bouncing back from adversity.
Building resilience as a start-up:
Ask for feedback
Feedback is so important not only for learning and development, but also for peace of mind. Being able to hear why you were rejected and where that came from, can set racing thoughts at bay. Understanding the thinking behind the decision can put things into perspective and allow for clarity of mind.
Hear the feedback, reflect on it, and use it wisely into actionable steps to grow.
Embrace change
Get comfortable with change. Goals and vision are crucial for alignment in a start-up, but being able to reflect upon and harness change can also set you apart. Taking rejections, reflecting upon them, being aware that your feelings are a normal reaction to set-back but still learning from them, and embracing the redirection it grants you with.
No matter what forms of rejection you are faced with as a founder, they will be tough. Entrepreneurship is a path that doesn’t shy away from rejection. But it is important to be mindful that this rejection is rarely ever personal to you. It may feel as though this rejection was a target at a hit at you and who you are, but it’s unlikely to be rooted there. Be sure to separate yourself from your business here, and recognise that it’s probably not personal.
When faced with rejection, remember these three things.
Get rooted in reality. Accept what is in your control, and what is not.
Find feedback and meaning. Collate the information behind why the rejection happened.
Embrace change, see it as a new challenge.
Written by: Dani Olliffe, Psychological Well-being Associate
Rejection, Redirection, and Resilience as a founder
Rejection, redirection and resilience. These are 3 R’s you’re probably familiar with as a founder, but how comfortable are you with them?
Rejection can feel soul-destroying. It can feel personal, devastating, and it can feel like the end of the road. Founders are, by nature, invested emotionally in their start-up, it’s their baby, it’s the summative production of their ideas and passions. When experiencing rejection, whether that be rejection from a bank loan or VC rejections, it can feel all-consuming and crushing. hit you hard.
‘Rejection is redirection’ is a well known quote, adapted from the thoughts of Bryant McGill. An important mantra to live by when faced with rejection from VC’s when raising funds.
Resilience is the capacity of people to deal with stress and adverse events, or the flexibility in response to changing situational demands. It’s the psychological ability to bounce back from rejection. It’s important to remember that resilience does not mean that you will not feel deflated, disappointed or upset with the situation, it just means that you have the ability to bounce back after! Let’s take a look at how we can build resilience to cope when faced with rejection during your founder journey.
Building resilience as an individual:
Make it a mindset
Adopting a growth mindset will help you bounce back from set-backs. Seeing each obstacle as a lesson, and as room for learning and development, will build up your psychological resilience.
Make it a habit
Developing resilience as a personal habit is rooted in being okay with change. Learn how to improvise, practise spontaneity and letting go of preconceived ideas and agendas. Habitually developing your behaviour to accept change will support you in bouncing back from adversity.
Building resilience as a start-up:
Ask for feedback
Feedback is so important not only for learning and development, but also for peace of mind. Being able to hear why you were rejected and where that came from, can set racing thoughts at bay. Understanding the thinking behind the decision can put things into perspective and allow for clarity of mind.
Hear the feedback, reflect on it, and use it wisely into actionable steps to grow.
Embrace change
Get comfortable with change. Goals and vision are crucial for alignment in a start-up, but being able to reflect upon and harness change can also set you apart. Taking rejections, reflecting upon them, being aware that your feelings are a normal reaction to set-back but still learning from them, and embracing the redirection it grants you with.
No matter what forms of rejection you are faced with as a founder, they will be tough. Entrepreneurship is a path that doesn’t shy away from rejection. But it is important to be mindful that this rejection is rarely ever personal to you. It may feel as though this rejection was a target at a hit at you and who you are, but it’s unlikely to be rooted there. Be sure to separate yourself from your business here, and recognise that it’s probably not personal.
When faced with rejection, remember these three things.
Get rooted in reality. Accept what is in your control, and what is not.
Find feedback and meaning. Collate the information behind why the rejection happened.
Embrace change, see it as a new challenge.
Written by: Dani Olliffe, Psychological Well-being Associate