I got my first big NO

Hey everyone,

This week was a rollercoaster of emotions. I was so close to closing out my friends and family round, but at the last moment, I got the big N-O. What made it feel even worse was it was from my cousin, who might as well be my brother.

I was raising the money for salaries for a potential co-founder and myself, but I haven’t locked down the co-founder yet. He wants me to lock down the cofounder and gain more momentum before he puts in any money. Otherwise, he feels as though he's giving me money that I haven't proven I need at this very moment.

Not going to lie, it definitely hurt. I put in a ton of work for it all to come to a “no.” I think it hurt because it just showed that the business is not where I thought it was.

What I learned is that you have to look on the bright side. Here are some other things I took away:

You will get a lot of nos; learn from it and bounce back.

A no is only a no at this very moment; that doesn’t mean it’s a no forever.

Throughout the process, I learned a lot about fundraising, and now, I have most of the info I'll need when I go back to fundraising.

One thing that still holds true is to be so good that people want you to take their money. Then you won't have to worry about getting nos as often.

What are your thoughts? Did I come out of this with the right learnings? Should I continue fundraising or wait to gain more momentum (team and progress)?