I've applied to TechStars about 4-5 times, maybe more. Each time I applied I made more and more progress, and got as far as being a TechStars finalist [Top ~30]

I've applied to TechStars about 4-5 times, maybe more. Each time I applied I made more and more progress, and got as far as being a TechStars finalist [Top ~30], but no further. Despite each time being "nonselected" rather than "rejected", I still felt pretty discouraged (especially after not even being a finalist the final time). When I looked back however, I changed my mind. While I may not have gotten into TechStars, that didn't mean they didn't have lessons to teach me. I learned a ton about entrepreneurship, learning to code, building a product and userbase, and networking, that I might not have ever learned had I not been striving to get into the program. I can't stop the entrepreneurial fire in me now, and I have David Cohen, Brad Feld, David Tisch, and more to thank for that.