Article · 12 min read

From Okara to Y Combinator: The Founders Who Got Rejected, Came Back, and Got In

Alina Atta · Startup.pk Free Beginner

This is the clearest 'what changed between attempts' story you will read. Waqas Ali's Markhor was rejected by YC in 2012 with the same idea it got in with in 2015. The only difference was proof: a Kickstarter that hit its $15,000 goal in 22 hours and raised $107,000, and 700 orders shipped to 35 countries. Same idea, new proof point, opposite answer. A South Asian, bootstrapped, small-town team makes it land for an Indian founder.

  • Rejection was not a verdict on the idea; the idea never changed. Traction changed the answer.
  • The concrete proof was 508 backers in 32 countries and 700 orders shipped, not a better pitch deck.
  • Waqas kept building for three years with three months of runway left, then reapplied from a position of demonstrated demand.
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The question it answers

  1. An accelerator rejected me. Should I reapply, apply elsewhere, or drop the idea?

Read with it

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