If you aren’t getting rejected on a daily basis, your goals aren’t ambitious enough

My most useful career experience was about eight years ago when I was trying to break into the world of VC-backed startups. I applied to hundreds of jobs: low-level VC roles, startups jobs, even to big tech companies. I got rejected from every single one. Big companies rejected me outright or gave me a courtesy interview before rejecting me. VCs told me they wanted someone with VC experience. Startups at the time were laying people off. The economy was bad (particularly where I was looking – consumer internet) and I had a strange resume (computer programmer, small bootstrapped startups, undergrad and masters studying Philosophy/mathematical logic).

The reason this period was so useful was that it helped me develop a really thick skin. I came to realize that employers weren’t really rejecting me as a person or on my potential – they were rejecting a resume. As it became depersonalized, I became bolder in my tactics. I eventually landed a job at Bessemer (thanks to their willingness to take chances and look beyond resumes), which led to getting my first VC-backed startup funded, and things got better from there.

One of the great things about looking for a job is that your “payoff” is almost always a max function (the best of all attempts), not an average. This is also generally true for raising VC financing, doing bizdev partnerships, hiring programmers, finding good advisors/mentors, even blogging and marketing. I probably got rejected by someone once a day last week alone. In one case a friend who tried to help called me to console me. He seemed surprised when I told him: “no worries – this is a daily occurrence – we’ll just keep trying.” If you aren’t getting rejected on a daily basis, your goals aren’t ambitious enough.

Anonymous

This is a very important concept and everyone neds to be reminded of it now and then.

Thx Chris

JB

Mubashir

I got rejected multiple times. Every time I learned something and reached where I wanted to…Patience, Perseverance and Faith help you achieve your goals.

Anonymous

Well said Chris.
http://twitter.com/L1AD LIAD

abnormal returns require abnormal efforts.
every time you get kicked in the **** and keep going you are distancing yourself from the crowd who’ve already decided to give up
http://www.5o9inc.com/ Peter Cranstone

A “No” means that a “Yes” is just around the corner. It’s just a wall to see if you’re willing or able to go up, around, or through it.
http://twitter.com/djtokyo Hiro Maeda

Thanks Chris for an awesome post!
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http://sheynkman.tumblr.com Kirill Sheynkman

I completely agree that tenacity is foremost when doing startups or investments.

Building a company is a long, tedious, often disappointing process filled with rejection. You have to have a thick skin and be able to handle it. You hear NO much more often then YES: from customers, from candidates, from investors.

But, the same is true on the other side for the venture capitalist. Deal flow, discipline, and tenacity. There is a lot of garbage out there. You have to filter to get to the good deals and fight like hell to get them. And you have to face your LPs and explain why their money is still sitting there, seemingly idle or going down the drain in haste.

I guess there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Good things are worth fighting for. (Insert more cliches here ).
Steve Suhrheinrich

Strange resumes can be an asset, but it takes the right person to recognize it. Most people don’t.
http://redesignmobile.com rakeshlobster

Great post, Chris.

I also have an abnormal resume — I majored in journalism. Despite more than 10 years of experience in consumer Internet, most recruiters can’t see past that.

The few that bother to click through to my blog are impressed by my knowledge.
http://www.cdixon.org chris dixon

true, the principles apply to every job, even VC where on the surface it appears they are the rejectors.
http://www.cdixon.org chris dixon

I tell people to just skip the resume and send me their blog these days…

Richardj08

Dear Chris,
I am a junior majoring in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and looking for advice. I recently had cause to rethink my life and I decided that in order to get myself where I need to be I should ask for some input from people who are close to where I may want to be and people who I think are headed in the right direction. If you can spare just a small bit of your time I’d be grateful if you answered some of these questions (which unfortunately cheesily adhere to the metaphor of ‘life is a journey’).

What steps got you to where you are today?
What is it like and do you enjoy it (describe the scenery)?
Would you have taken different steps to get to where you are or would you go in a different direction entirely?
Would you suggest the same path for others?
What guidance did you receive on your journey?
What internal or external forces kept your compass pointing north?
Do you have any words of wisdom to impart?

http://shanacarp.com/essays ShanaC

Chris, you make me feel a lot better. I have a super abnormal resume, and a new college graduate. It’s a sad time in certain ways- though it is helpful to know of my graduating class of friends (the december group) it took a lot 6-9 months to find something.

You make me feel so normal and less worried about friends who graduated earlier and are doing “the right thing” If you ended up fine, most likely I will be. (I’m still a bit jealous, I figure that is normal)

Thanks for writing this! Keep it for your future kids!
http://redesignmobile.com rakeshlobster

I really like that approach. It was one (of many) things that impressed me about USV’s selection process for their associates this year.
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http://lmframework.com/blog/about David Semeria

The conventional wisdom is that a long stream of ‘nos’ just reinforces the likelihood of an eventual ‘yes’. This type outlook is seen as a defining characteristic of the dogged entrepreneur.

But sometimes there’s a good reason for all the rejections.

You also have to know when to stop.
http://twitter.com/cindygallop1 Cindy Gallop

I’m with Shana. Right now, I find this post very cheering Thanks Chris!
Muthu

Awesome motivational post.. Thanks
http://www.facebook.com/razin Razin Mustafiz

If you don’t mind me asking, what was your role at Bessemer?
http://shanacarp.com/essays ShanaC

We should talk and thanks!
http://www.cdixon.org chris dixon

associate
Wakawaka

If you’re aren’t getting rejected –> If you aren’t getting rejected
Jonah Mathew

The selling starts when the prospect says no.
http://yountlabs.com Marshall Yount

As someone who views the world through a mathematical lens, I love your comment about these payoffs being a max function.

With a max() function it is almost always worthwhile to go back to try “just one more time.” With an average there is the insidious desire to protect previously meager gains.

It seems to me that most things in life that are “long shots” have max payoffs. Cold calling. Dating. House shopping (I looked at 84 houses before selecting my home — maybe everyone else is not so maniacally focused on finding ‘the one’).
http://twitter.com/tweetBGrdf Amansingh

http://twitter.com/Bhagavad_Geeta
Anonymous

Rejections are ok (I’m not good enough or my product is not good enough… fair enough!).

Force of nature is also ok (“an arm can’t fight the body” or something like that…).

What is not ok is force of evil (For instance, do you know why my FB account was disabled out of blue? …)
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Anonymous

@mark_l_watson
Shift your perspective. *Everything* has a cost or price. The 100 rejections is the cost and a part of the process of creating opportunity, whether it is a business or “other activities.” Or, you could be a “flibberty-gibbit” and flit from one thing to another to another at the first sign of rejection. What does that demonstrate?
http://www.Spidvid.com Jeremy Campbell

I used to hate getting rejected, but now I know that I’m reaching high and thinking big when I do. Excellent post Chris, a reminder that we will all get many many more no’s than yes’s on the path to success.
http://www.hypedsound.com jonathanjaeger

Failure 99% of the time could lead you to the same end result as if you had never failed at all. We don’t always get to choose the latter option though.
Anonymous

Winston Churchill said ‘Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm’. I think that’s a great quote to live by, and very much in line with your post.
http://avc.com fredwilson

like skiing, if you aren’t falling, you aren’t pushing yourself hard enough

i’ve got skiing on my mind thanks to @codinghorror

http://t.co/X937yHa
http://www.cdixon.org chris dixon

love that clip.
Anonymous

I love this, and totally agree. I remember when I went on sales calls with one of the really successful sales people at a previous company I worked for, and it was amazing how gracefully she could receive rejection.

I’ve been thinking lately about how brands are kind of getting rejected in small ways all the time, whether or not we’re aware of it. Examples: every unfollow on Twitter, every person who visits my signup page but doesn’t enter their info, the bounce rate of my websites, etc.
http://venturehacks.com nivi

People that reject me are doing me a favor.

They’re not rejecting me or my product. They’re rejecting the combination of me and them together.

They’re telling me we would have a bad relationship. And they’re probably right.
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Anonymous

That’s a really interesting way to think about rejection. A type of micro rejection…
http://rishabhsays.wordpress.com/ Rishabh

I’m graduating next year and going through this phase for the first time…thanks for this awesome post, ‘ll always remember it !!
http://twitter.com/samjackson Sam Jackson

Interesting approach – I’ll have to remember to update my blog a little more regularly.

That said, online branding / presence has always been my hallmark for helping cinch jobs. How to find me? “Well, just go Google my name…” sometimes personalized search would mess it up, but diligence has kept ‘samjackson.org’ in the top 3 (sometimes slipping to 4/5) for ‘sam jackson’ searches. That’s been super important, and always a good draw.
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http://www.nektra.com srw

IMHO the important thing is how much information you gather in your rejection, and how you can use it.
http://www.dearigor.com Igor Hiller

Can you give an example of one of your “bolder” tactics?
http://www.justsay.on.ca rinkjustice

I devised a game Rejection Therapy for myself (which may be of help to others) to encourage getting out of my comfort zone. It’s here if anyone wants to try it: http://rejectiontherapy.com
http://www.repeatablesale.com/ Scott Barnett

So true Chris, and a great reminder for any founder to remember they should not be relying on others to get rejected when they are first forming their product/company. If you aren’t getting rejected directly, you are not learning first hand what you need to do to get from a “no” to a “yes”. Don’t delegate that to others. Nobody will care about your hurt pride 2-3 years later (or 2-3 minutes later, in most cases!)

Thanks for the post, a great reminder…
http://www.repeatablesale.com/ Scott Barnett

I have this quote on my mouse pad: “Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with Talent; Genius will not; Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and Determination alone are omnipotent.

– Calvin Coolidge
http://twitter.com/jcbruin Jon Chang

Chris, were you getting rejections even with your MBA from HBS or was this pre-MBA?
http://twitter.com/malharhshah Malhar Shah

Rejection is a Badge of Honor….you need to earn it
http://qtp.blogspot.com/ sachxn

yes somehow this is very true….a very thought provoking post
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http://www.cdixon.org chris dixon

during the MBA (summer and for jobs after)
Brian

Interesting thesis. For my money its the quality AND the quantity of attempts. Nobody should ever give up, I agree. Sure you can make the argument of the maxiumum reward function, but this logic ignores planning and quality. “The best of all attempts” may come more frequently when your not simply churning through job interviews. Perhaps argue for more emphasis on your resume’s content instead of just playing a game of pure odds.

Take this with a grain of salt, though, because I have no experience in the realm of Venture Capital.

Chris Dixon