Rejection is Redirection: For those who didn’t get into LaunchX, I understand.

Hi, I’m Rachel, and I want to share something personal with you – I have faced a lot of rejection. I applied to Ivy League schools, hoping for that golden ticket. But I got the opposite — rejection after rejection. It was crushing. I thought that I would be receiving the validation I subconsciously yearned for, but instead, I was left questioning my worth and wondering if I was good enough.

Rejection: The First Hurdle (and then the second, as well)

The first time I was rejected from universities I didn’t think much of it since I wanted to take a gap year to run my women entrepreneurship community, SheUp, so I could always apply again and try harder next year. But it turns out, I was rejected yet again. 

Receiving a “no” is not easy; it’s as simple as that. A couple hundred words on a computer screen handed to you seemingly decide your future.

Failure: A couple reps, then repeat a couple sets

I could continue to tell you that LaunchX, Harvard, and Yale are all extremely competitive. I could explain how this year we had a record number of applications, and how it was a tough choice. But to be honest, none of that really matters.

I now understand that handling rejection was exercising a crucial muscle: the muscle of resilience. One of my LaunchX mentors once said that the ability to get back up from failure is the most important, admirable, and salient quality of all successful entrepreneurs.

I wish I could tell you everything was roses from that point on out, but I can only share that I’ve failed many times since. I failed to bring SheUp from China to the Netherlands, I failed to build a Gen-Z entrepreneurship community (but the branding is great, check out YES here), I failed to get into many really cool funding and startup programs, and I failed to be fully financially independent (thanks, mom). But with each setback, I realized that these rejections weren’t determining my worth. They were simply redirections leading me to something far greater than I could have envisioned.

My Gap Year (that turned into a gap life)

I always say that after the second round of rejections, my gap year became a “gap life”. I left behind the idea of following the traditional path I had imagined and decided to take a leap of faith. I did a complete 180-degree turn and moved to the Netherlands, a country I had never even visited. I lived at a student accommodation in Amsterdam and was a freelance photographer and creative director, and found my way back into the startup community with a VC company called Unknown Group. 

So you were rejected from LaunchX (or anything)

I understand that getting rejected from LaunchX (or any big program) can feel like a punch to the gut right now. But trust me when I say that rejection isn’t the end of your story. It’s a small chapter in a much larger journey. Entrepreneurship isn’t a straight line from success to success; it’s a winding path full of twists, turns, and yes—setbacks. But you’re getting the chance to build the muscle of resilience, and you always have the option to take and embrace that opportunity.

If you didn’t make it into LaunchX or even your first choice of program, don’t let that define you. Use it as motivation to keep pushing forward. There are countless ways to continue building your skills, learning from mentors, and growing your network. Keep an eye on opportunities like the LaunchX Command Post articles, the LaunchX Podcast, and our newsletter, all of which are designed to help you grow as an entrepreneur, no matter where you are on your journey. 

(And for what it’s worth, I’m personally pretty passionate about exploring the depths of failure and resilience. If you were rejected and want to chit-chat about that with someone who understands rejection, send me an email.)

What Feels Important Today vs. What Will Matter Tomorrow

I read a quote recently by Collegewise founder Kevin McMullin, who said that one of the most challenging and important practices is “to see the distinction between what feels important today and what will actually be important many tomorrows from now.” 

When I was rejected from Ivy League schools, it felt like the biggest blow to my confidence. But looking back, I realize those rejections weren’t the defining moments of my life. They were simply small steps in a much bigger journey. Any single rejection does not define your future. It’s about the long game—how you learn, adapt, and grow from these experiences.

Rejection is a redirection. It’s your chance to course-correct and discover a path that might be even more rewarding than you first imagined. Keep going, and remember: the most important things in life will reveal themselves to you when you’re open to the possibilities.