Rejection. It’s something startup PR and marketing people get used to.

Sometimes you think you’ve written the perfect pitch to an editor or journalist. You’ve read their articles, you understand the audience they appeal to, you’ve reached out on Twitter and suggested a story you’re sure they’ll be interested in. A week goes by and nothing; no response to your “killer pitch”. You send a follow up email, then another a week later. Still nothing.

We wanted to protect our students from the pain of rejection, but we knew they would have to experience it sooner or later. It’s par for the course in the startup world.