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Is there an optimal rejection rate? How would you calculate such a thing?

by brador 13y ago

joelrunyon 13y ago
This is a good point. If you're getting rejected all the time - what's the chance that you're simply wrong? What's the chance that everyone else is? At some point you have to have some sort of breakthrough or you're just the guy that got rejected 1,000 times.
- RollAHardSix 13y ago
  Tell that to Thomas Edison... But yes, it would be wise for people to not believe that they are a special and unique snowflake who will succeed no matter what in the face of adversity...the world just doesn't work like that. I guess you could say shoot for the stars, but stay realistic.
  - kamaal 13y ago
    >>Tell that to Thomas Edison... Or for that matter anyone who tried to achieve the impossible. But not all rejections are equal. Some rejections happen because the people at the other end just can't comprehend the very nature of what you are trying to do. Edison's, Wright brother's, Tesla's of the world belong to this category. The world is so disconnected and attached to the ordinary, merely the sight something different makes people look at skeptically at your pursuits. And there are some rejections where clearly the person isn't taking a glaringly obvious feedback given to them. Due to ego, arrogance or pure foolishness.
    - joelrunyon 13y ago
      But they both had some sort of breakthrough (which is exactly the exemption I laid out above).
- brador 13y ago
  From my back of the envelope calculation, you should be getting rejected at a minimum 1/e ~36% (that's the failure rate due to random chance in a perfect system). Max rejection rate cannot be found due to a tendency to infinity. Key takeaway - don't let your failure rate get below 36%.
nl 13y ago
The article actually says: "If you aren’t getting rejected on a daily basis, your goals aren’t ambitious enough."
- omegant 13y ago
  This is in my experience the hardest part of being a founder. Is where I procastinate the most.
  - nickstinemates 13y ago
    I'm the opposite. I thrive on adversity; I love asking questions and getting to the root of it.
    - omegant 13y ago
      Congratulations! It's really where everybody strugles. You are a natural born entrepreneur.
michaelochurch 13y ago
It's not about rejection rates. It's about what you learn, and the progress. Numbers (of this sort) don't matter. Learning tends to happen when things don't go as you expected they would. Unexpected good and bad events can have that effect. Rejection and failure don't have intrinsic merit, and I've seen plenty of people (with the luxury to fail, due to trust funds or connections or whatever) who continually fail and don't grow. But if you never fail-- of course, there are degrees of failure and total failure is uncommon and still undesirable-- you're probably taking too few risks.

Is there an optimal rejection rate? How would you calculate such a thing?

by brador 13y ago

Is there an optimal rejection rate? How would you calculate such a thing?

This is a good point. If you're getting rejected all the time - what's the chance that you're simply wrong? What's the chance that everyone else is? At some point you have to have some sort of breakthrough or you're just the guy that got rejected 1,000 times.

RollAHardSix 13y ago
Tell that to Thomas Edison... But yes, it would be wise for people to not believe that they are a special and unique snowflake who will succeed no matter what in the face of adversity...the world just doesn't work like that. I guess you could say shoot for the stars, but stay realistic.
- kamaal 13y ago
  >>Tell that to Thomas Edison... Or for that matter anyone who tried to achieve the impossible. But not all rejections are equal. Some rejections happen because the people at the other end just can't comprehend the very nature of what you are trying to do. Edison's, Wright brother's, Tesla's of the world belong to this category. The world is so disconnected and attached to the ordinary, merely the sight something different makes people look at skeptically at your pursuits. And there are some rejections where clearly the person isn't taking a glaringly obvious feedback given to them. Due to ego, arrogance or pure foolishness.
  - joelrunyon 13y ago
    But they both had some sort of breakthrough (which is exactly the exemption I laid out above).
brador 13y ago
From my back of the envelope calculation, you should be getting rejected at a minimum 1/e ~36% (that's the failure rate due to random chance in a perfect system). Max rejection rate cannot be found due to a tendency to infinity. Key takeaway - don't let your failure rate get below 36%.

nl 13y ago

The article actually says: "If you aren’t getting rejected on a daily basis, your goals aren’t ambitious enough."

omegant 13y ago
This is in my experience the hardest part of being a founder. Is where I procastinate the most.
- nickstinemates 13y ago
  I'm the opposite. I thrive on adversity; I love asking questions and getting to the root of it.
  - omegant 13y ago
    Congratulations! It's really where everybody strugles. You are a natural born entrepreneur.

michaelochurch 13y ago

It's not about rejection rates. It's about what you learn, and the progress. Numbers (of this sort) don't matter. Learning tends to happen when things don't go as you expected they would. Unexpected good and bad events can have that effect. Rejection and failure don't have intrinsic merit, and I've seen plenty of people (with the luxury to fail, due to trust funds or connections or whatever) who continually fail and don't grow. But if you never fail-- of course, there are degrees of failure and total failure is uncommon and still undesirable-- you're probably taking too few risks.