While a situation like this would initially anger me and turn me off to the idea of continuing, I've learned to channel negative thoughts into something positiv

While a situation like this would initially anger me and turn me off to the idea of continuing, I've learned to channel negative thoughts into something positive. And don't mistake me, I'm not at all the mystical or enlightened type. What I mean is that I've learned to channel my rage into productivity. In situations like these, you need to know how to motivate yourself. Visualize being in a much bigger spotlight than your competitor, getting blogged by TechCrunch and having every comment be positive, getting phone calls from high-ups at businesses interested in acquisition. If you're the vengeful type, think about having enough FU money to set things right in the future. Focus on whatever it is that means success to you, and try to get there. If your #1 goal was really only to get YC funding, and if you allow failing at one particular goal to stop you, then you just weren't cut out for this.