Every single company we’ve ever funded has heard “no” multiple times during most of their fundraising efforts. From us at OATV, from other funds, from angels. “No” is painful for anyone to hear, but especially so for an entrepreneur who believes the only thing standing between them and world domination is the cash to fuel their rocketship.

Reality is, at the seed stage, most rocketships look more like the cardboard variety you’d make as a kid than something NASA developed. Pour rocketfuel into your cardboard creation and you’re more likely to see it go up in flames than into orbit.

I think there’s something powerful about hearing “no”. About being unfundable. Whether its investors telling you your market is too small, or that your product kinda (really) sucks, or that you’ve built a feature not a company, or that customers will never pay you for it.

Wherever the “no” comes from I think its refining. I believe it makes you confront painful realities that exist in your business. Perhaps you really haven’t positioned it properly. Maybe you really don’t know who your customer is yet. Or, that your small, but growing, user base really isn’t getting what you think they are from the service. It forces you to work harder, think more critically and engage more deeply with your customers to see if there’s merit to the push back. 

I fear that, in this market, people are pouring rocketfuel into cardboard cutouts and no one is telling them.I strongly believe living through “unfundable” periods is important for long term success. Consider it a badge of honor that most people think your idea won’t work. I’m certain that if you look at every single one of the entrepreneurs who’ve gone on to build big, enduring businesses they were unfundable once too.