Investors who said no
Howard Schultz pitched 242 investors for his first coffee company. 217 turned him down. He later built Starbucks.
Source: Wikipedia ↗
TheRejectionRoom
#UnfilteredProfile
Every shining profile has a story behind it.
The untold moments of rejection behind the world's most remarkable business leaders, shared here for the first time.
#UnfilteredProfile · Founded by Dr. Praddy Kaushik
Stories from the room.
Every story here will be real, and every writer chooses whether to sign it.
Opening soon
The first stories are being collected.
We are inviting the world's leading founders, CEOs, business tycoons and women leaders to share the moment no one saw. The first stories will appear here, each one reviewed with its author before publication.
Every story is a lesson in facing rejection.
- 01How they dealt with itWhat they felt, and what they told themselves the day the no arrived.
- 02What they did nextThe practical steps: what they changed, who they asked, what they tried again.
- 03Why they kept goingThe reason that carried them through, and the line they would give to you.
Browse by room
The Founders RoomThe pitches, the investors who said no, and the first company that did not survive.Waiting for its first story
The BoardroomCEOs on the decisions, setbacks and rejections that came before the top seat.Waiting for its first story
The Comeback RoomBeing fired, losing a business, starting again, and rising higher.Waiting for its first story
The Empire RoomThe tycoons and builders of global companies, before the world knew their names.Waiting for its first story
The Women Who Lead RoomWomen leaders on the doors that stayed closed, and how they opened new ones.Waiting for its first story
Why this room exists.
Three numbers from the founder's own journey.
10months of applying, preparing and showing up, with almost the same reply each time.
1,000+applications, in one junior's late-night message: "Ma'am, I'm losing hope."
0of those moments made it onto anyone's feed. Until now.
Rejected, then remembered.
The world's most shining profiles were built on a pile of no's. These are on the public record.
Job rejections in 2009
Brian Acton was turned down by Twitter and then by Facebook. In 2014, Facebook bought the company he co-founded, WhatsApp, for $19 billion.
Source: The Next Web ↗Investor rejection emails
Brian Chesky published seven investors' rejections of Airbnb's early pitch, to show founders that a no is not the end.
Source: Brian Chesky on Medium ↗Times rejected by Harvard
Jack Ma has said he applied to Harvard ten times and was rejected every time, before he founded Alibaba.
Source: Entrepreneur ↗Publicly documented stories. These leaders are not affiliated with The Rejection Room. Their no's are part of why it exists.
The Leaders' Edition
One line from the moment no one saw.
We invite founders, CEOs, business tycoons and women leaders to share one moment from before the success: the rejection, or the night it seemed it would not happen. Told here for the first time, for everyone who is still on their way.
Told here first.Each Leaders' Edition story is an original contribution, published exclusively on #UnfilteredProfile.
In your own voice.Edited with care for clarity, never for spin. The final text is shared with you before publication.
Presence by choice.Appear with a portrait, as a silhouette, or without a name.
Independent.No advertising and no sponsorship. Every story stands on its own.
- 01A conversation.A few written answers, or a short private call with Dr. Praddy Kaushik at a time that suits you.
- 02Careful editing.Your words are shaped into one story and one defining line, and shared with you for review.
- 03Publication.Your story is published with an #UnfilteredProfile cover, ready to share with your network.
Voices of #UnfilteredProfile
Your rejection story could be someone's reason to try again.
It shows them how to get back up, what to do next, and why a no is never the end. Every person who shares their moment here becomes a Voice of #UnfilteredProfile.
Told here firstA mark of courageEvery original story carries the "Told here first" seal, a sign that you chose to share what others keep private.
Your own coverA personal #UnfilteredProfile cover with your portrait and your defining line, ready for your network.
Your impactA month after publication, a note on how many people your story reached and what readers said it gave them.
Ready to share
I shared a moment I have never talked about publicly. Every shining profile has a story behind it, and this is part of mine. If you are facing a no right now, I hope it helps you try again.
#UnfilteredProfile #TheRejectionRoom
Your #UnfilteredProfile.
Every profile shows the wins. Build the other side, with your photo or without it, and see your cover come to life.
The Rejection Room#UnfilteredProfile
The Founders Room
"The no you never posted."
Your nameYour role
What it taught you.
#UnfilteredProfileEvery shining profile has a story behind it.
Your story and photo are sent securely to Dr. Praddy Kaushik. Nothing is published before the final text has been shared with you.
Meet the founder
The moment before success is the story we never tell.
Dr. Praddy Kaushik
Founder, The Rejection Room · #UnfilteredProfile · Netherlands
I'm Dr. Praddy Kaushik, a geospatial science and data visualisation scientist, based in the Netherlands. My work has always been about one thing: making the invisible visible, turning what no one looks at into something everyone can understand.
Rejection is the largest invisible dataset in every career. I have lived it: ten months of applications and the same reply, again and again. Then a junior wrote to me: "Ma'am, I'm losing hope. I think I've applied to more than a thousand jobs."
#UnfilteredProfile is my answer. My goal is to build the world's most honest collection of the moments behind success, told by the business leaders the world admires, and to place each one where it matters most: in front of someone who is about to give up.
Dr. Praddy Kaushik
Our visionA world where no one faces rejection alone, because the people they admire chose to share theirs.
Our missionTo turn the untold moments behind the world's most shining profiles into courage, and real lessons on how to face rejection, for everyone still on their way.
Three rules of the room.
- OneListen first.Give advice only when someone asks for it.
- TwoNo judging. No comparing.Every story here is someone's real life.
- ThreeShared with consent.Every story is published with its author's consent, named or anonymous.