{"id":32823,"date":"2023-10-20T14:29:13","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/aussie-startups-tell-their-stories-of-rejection-and-dealing-with-the-trough-of-sorrow-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T14:29:13","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T14:29:13","slug":"aussie-startups-tell-their-stories-of-rejection-and-dealing-with-the-trough-of-sorrow-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/aussie-startups-tell-their-stories-of-rejection-and-dealing-with-the-trough-of-sorrow-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussie startups tell their stories of rejection and dealing with the ‘trough of sorrow’ – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Enterprise app store startup Maestrano<\/a> is on track to meet forecasts of 100x revenue growth year-on-year, has offices in Sydney, Seattle and Dubai, and has raised $2.6 million in capital.<\/p>\n

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Since being founded in 2013 it has grown its team to 18 people and is looking to increase that number to almost 50 by the end of the year. But it hasn\u2019t been easy. As part of an ongoing series examining Australian founders\u2019 experience of the ‘trough of sorrow’, StartupSmart <\/i>chatted with Maestrano co-founder Stephane Ibos about his most difficult startup moment.<\/p>\n

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Ibos explains when he and co-founder Arnaud Lachaume founded Maestrano they were first-time founders who had no idea what to do. So they dove right in, taking a week-long holiday before quitting their corporate jobs, travelling to San Francisco to attend Launch Festival<\/a> with nothing more than a Maestrano banner, and a product that didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe had no idea what a startup was, no idea what raising funds was. So we went to Launch Festival, booked a table for $500. We knew so little that we had a sign with Maestrano and nothing else. We realised pretty quickly we needed a banner that explains what we do,\u201d Ibos says with a laugh.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe were patronised by investors like never in your life. At the end of the day you felt like if ever we had an ego, it was gone. Massively gone, but it was a good education.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Constant rejection<\/b><\/p>\n

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That was a sign of things to come as Ibos and Lachaume went in search of investment while continuing to develop their product. Ibos says they spent months and months meeting with investors morning and night and being told over and over again Maestrano would fail.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat was a tough time because it was challenging the very core our idea,\u201d Ibos says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEverything we\u2019ve done since, hiring staff, finding (customer) contracts, opening new locations. It\u2019s not easy. You work pretty much from six in the morning to midnight, it\u2019s lots of work. But it doesn\u2019t challenge the core of what your vision is as an entrepreneur.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Just two people working from a shitty apartment with nothing<\/b><\/p>\n

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Ibos says if he had a dollar for every time he was told during those first few months that Maestrano isn\u2019t going to work, he\u2019d be a multi-millionaire.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s not going to work. Too difficult a market. Your technology, what you want to do is impossible. After six months hearing that it starts to get to you,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt takes a toll to wake up every morning and realise we are two people in a shitty flat with nothing, constantly being told it\u2019s not going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As a result, Ibos and Lachaume set themselves a deadline. If they didn\u2019t have either investment or paying customers in 12 months\u2019 time, they\u2019d pull the plug on the business.  Seven months later they closed their first investment round.<\/p>\n

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Ibos says Maestrano is now in a strong enough position that it doesn\u2019t need another capital raise, although they are considering one. Even so he is acutely aware that success today doesn\u2019t guarantee success tomorrow.<\/p>\n

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Here are a few more startup founders on their trough of sorrow moments.<\/p>\n

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When deals fall over it hits me like a ton of bricks: <\/b>ConX<\/b><\/a> co-founder Annie Slattery<\/b> <\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201cI get overly optimistic and excited about potential deals, whether it\u2019s forming key industry partnerships, raising money or signing up really big customers. This is a good thing in one sense, but I get so excited, when rejection comes in, it hits me like a ton of bricks.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe strongest trait I\u2019ve built personally since starting on the ConX journey is resilience. I get over these rejections by following up to get a good understanding of why we\u2019ve been rejected and what we need to do to change that. I then refine the goals and set my sights on the next new and exciting deal and the roller coaster continues.\u201d<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m hit with the reality. It\u2019s fricken hard: <\/b>GeckoLife<\/b><\/a> founder Rajeev Gupta<\/b> <\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201cIn the third year of my startup I have started to question the decision I have made. Why did I leave a very comfortable job in an investment bank to begin a company? At the time, in 2012, it was exciting. The risk, the reward, the options, the opportunity.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNow I\u2019m hit with the reality. This is fricken hard. This is harder than anything in investment banking. At least in banking you get to travel nicely, you eat at great restaurants, you have annual parties, you get a salary and a bonus. Yes you work hard, but you also receive pleasures.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs a startup, the time to succeed is on average five years, unless you\u2019re lucky. I am only 50% of the journey. Mismatched chairs at the office, no coffee machine, no monthly payslip to look forward to, budget airline flights at 2am. This is brutal. It tests your clarity of thought, your patience and your drive. I must admit, I am beginning to wither. I believe in my product more today than when we started. But the virality hasn\u2019t come. Everyday feels like we might be on the brink of having to close.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou can read all the literature in the world about beginning a startup. Nothing can prepare you for the actuality. However, if you believe, you persist. Faith, enthusiasm, and more belief to succeed. The key is patience.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Read more: Four Aussie startups tell how they beat the \u2018trough of sorrow\u2019<\/i><\/a> <\/i><\/p>\n


<\/b>Check back soon for more stories from Australian founders on their toughest moments, and how they overcame them. Are you a startup founder who has had a trough of sorrow moment? We\u2019d love to hear from you. Email<\/i> <\/i><\/a> <\/i><\/a>kwhite@starutpsmart.com.au<\/a><\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n


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If you\u2019re having a difficult time, call <\/i>Lifeline<\/i><\/a> on 13 11 14 or <\/i>beyondblue<\/i><\/a> on 1300 22 4636.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Follow StartupSmart on <\/i>Facebook<\/i><\/a>, <\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/a>, and <\/i>LinkedIn<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Enterprise app store startup Maestrano is on track to meet forecasts of 100x revenue growth year-on-year, has offices in Sydney,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32823"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}