Embracing Rejection

yCombinator for ProximityCast.com was a fluke and a long shot, however so was it a good exercise. How do they say, “learn to embrace the rejection?” This whole journey into entrepreneurship has been quite an experience. Only conjecture and speculation can presume as to why yCombinator chose to reject ProximityCast.com. There were some hard hurdles I anticipated: solo founder, old founder more than twice as old as the average chosen. Location; Although I wasn't born nor raised here, I’ve been enjoying my camp in the Ozarks for a long time now. Good for family and good for me. Good for my business? Well, as long as I could keep my camp and the pieces came together where my wife could understand and it was workable, a move is not impossible. Then there is an already launched web app with no traction… Yeah, how do you achieve that mystical traction?

"It has no God-given right to succeed if...
... it does not give customers what they want."
Roger Holmes~British Business Executive.

But then, do customers really know what they want or need. Then again, it could be presumptuous to decide for them. However the power of a vision is truly an amazing force. There are some who really get it, then others who don’t even come close to venturing below the surface. yCombinator was one that didn’t look deep as evidenced by the tracking logs, but I reckon their hands were full and it is easy to see on the surface if an application fits a mold they prefer. We all have our preferences and yCombinator was good enough to state some of theirs. So be it. You play the cards you’re dealt.

Is that it? Or is there something else at work? I’ve found launching a start-up is very much like raising a new born baby. An acorn doesn’t turn into a full grown oak overnight, even if we want it too. But then there are the auctomatics of the world. If it wasn’t overnight, it sure was quick. Must be nice, hey boys? Then when you are a parent you sure hope your children will grow up, amount to something worthwhile, and have a good life.

I didn’t want to tackle this project solo and even made overtures to a very small select few. M y failure to procure a co-founder could reflect on my leadership abilities or my unwillingness to be pushy. ProximityCast® has been a dream for long time that was once released and then brought back to life. There have been good parts to running solo. I’ve had to do things that I probably would have loved to pass off to others, but have grown by having to do them myself.

yCombinator’s rejection doesn’t hurt near as much as the knowledge of what I’m missing out on. I’ve tasted in another life what I can imagine yCombinator is able to supply to young, enthusiastic, and energetic entrepreneurs: a support network that are all gunning for your success! My other life was spent flying helicopters. I consider myself a talented and excellent pilot with the hours and experience to back that up. But, I know that is all a result of the support network that helped me to become a success. High School to Army Flight School followed by two years in South Korea where the man in the next seat was more often than not an experienced and talented Vietnam Vet. Hey kid, have you seen this? Let me show you how it is done. Yes I believe I truly love coding as much as I love flying, but I miss having that experienced next seat showing me the ropes before I have to take something on, on my own. To try to land a helicopter on the top of a five thousand foot pinnacle without someone ever showing you how is crazy. So does it seem trying to tackle the many aspects of entrepreneurship. But then I guess you go until you either crash, run out of gas or succeed especially if they let you hop in that baby and fly. We all gotta die someday; it is just a matter of when and how. Even so, it would be nice to have a pair of steady hands already familiar with the territory to help guide a young entrepreneur along. (Ok, so I’m an old codger, but a very young entrepreneur.) Having missed out on that is the painful part.

However, stumbling on yCombinator has definitely been my gain. My wife really related to Paul’s musing on the traits of a hacker. I wish I would have saved the link to that speech. Maybe someone will be good enough to post it. It was the one talking about having a work area with a couch to take a nap when you felt the need instead of a cubical where you have to continue to sit and gaze at the screen like you’re accomplishing something although in reality just a zombie. So much info and so little time… I pick up pieces I can really identify with and then there are the warning sign posts that say, “You’ve got a long haul up hill boy!” The 18 Mistakes That Kill Startups But they are balanced against the sage advice that might make a difference: How Not to Die Paul, where do you find all that energy? Where ever it comes from it is appreciated. It is almost as good as having that next seat of talented ability.

The vision continues to drive me on. Sometimes I wish I could move faster than I’m able, but a quote I got out of “The Essence of Leadership” by Mac Anderson continues to carry me forward: “By the yard life is hard, but by the inch it’s a cinch!” And so has been the development of my project: ProximityCast.com I always look forward to coding and adding parts. I found I enjoy the coding more than the promoting. Both are important, and both show me the wisdom of Paul’s preference for more than one founder. This is a cool journey entrepreneurs are on; even cooler than flying in my book. I wish I could have stumbled on it at a more youthful age. You can have an enjoyable life flying and earning a paycheck, but if you’re successful as an entrepreneur you can buy your own helicopter and hire a talented CFI that can give you dual when necessity causes you to have to fly. If you’re successful as an entrepreneur, you are definitely on the better side of the fence.

The best of hacking to all you guys!

David B Robert
Founder of ProximityCast.com