My first 6 years as a startup founder: - Started by building AI mobile apps at 20yo - Failed with 4+ startups - Ran out of money multiple times - Was rejected by Y Combinator 8 times - Had a $15k credit card debt - Got 200+ rejections from investors My last year as a startup founder: - Moved to SF - Launch Rork, AI mobile app builder, to make my year 1 self happy - Got into a16z speedrun and raised $3M+ - Scaled Rork to millions in ARR in under a year - Became the #1 AI mobile app builder in the world The average journey to a $1B company takes 10 years. I’m on year 7. Keep building.

@daniel_dhawan Eight YC rejections is brutal. I'm still figuring out if I should even apply with my current project or wait until I have more traction.

@daniel_dhawan This guy is a beast. Proof that relentless hard work can get you anywhere.

@daniel_dhawan Reading this just gives a fine hope that it's a journey and the dots connect going backward

@daniel_dhawan @GeorgeLampro20 Dedication

@daniel_dhawan Congrats Daniel!

@daniel_dhawan @rork keep going Daniel!!!

@daniel_dhawan Rork will be a billion dollar company by 2027

@daniel_dhawan w

@daniel_dhawan Congratulations Daniel!! Rork is going to launch me to the Moon!!! I'm enjoying the ride.

@daniel_dhawan 6 years of this and you're still building. That's the real signal. We analyze founder voices at NE0 and the single biggest predictor of survival isn't confidence. It's what happens to your voice after a rejection. Some people get quieter. The ones who make it get clearer.

@daniel_dhawan 200+ rejections then a16z speedrun is the part nobody talks about. The nos don't get worse, your pitch just gets tighter every time. Most founders quit refining after 10 rejections when the real signal hasn't even started yet.

@daniel_dhawan 8 YC rejections and 200+ investor nos is a filter most founders never survive. the ones who push through usually stop guessing what the market wants and start building from what they already know doesn't work.

@daniel_dhawan TBH more intrested in these stories than i made 10k mmr in a week type. my grandpa used to say to me - if its worth having, its worth working for. still rings true. congrats

@daniel_dhawan wait so what changed in that last year? most founders give up before the pivot. was it pure persistence or did you actually crack something specific in your approach? curious how you turned it around

@daniel_dhawan yo this reads like every legit founder's story. the real question is what shifted in year 7 - was it mindset or just pure stubborn persistence? curious what made the difference between constant rejection and finally breaking through

@daniel_dhawan hm interesting path - but for every story like this there's 10 founders who just quietly build without the drama. sometimes less noise = more progress. what worked best in your actual pivot moment?

@daniel_dhawan That’s a very inspiring story 👏 I’m building my own B2B Saas - AI-native, narrative-driven data room for startups and would appreciate your advice on customer acquisition strategies.

@daniel_dhawan the $15k credit card debt era while still shipping is something most people skip over in the founder stories. that part builds more than any accelerator

@daniel_dhawan This is the kind of story that keeps founders going. 8 YC rejections and still pushed through — that's not luck, that's just extreme persistence. The startup game really does reward the ones who refuse to quit. Love this 🔥

@daniel_dhawan Respect the grind. People see the win in year 7 and miss the years of rejection, debt, and persistence that built it. That’s what real founders look like.

@daniel_dhawan The credit card debt phase is where you find out if you actually believe in the thing or if you just liked the idea of being a founder.

@daniel_dhawan Starting with AI mobile apps and failing is almost a rite of passage now. The early iterations teach you where the actual value is — usually not the first thing you build. Six years of that compresses the learning curve most founders don't survive.

@daniel_dhawan What was the inflection point between year 1 and year 2? Was it product-market fit clarity, market timing, or did something fundamental change in your approach?

@daniel_dhawan 8 YC rejections? you basically collected the infinity stones of 'no'. congrats on breaking through, though.

@daniel_dhawan @rork Epic job dude.

@daniel_dhawan 8 YC rejections and $15k in credit card debt. curious what finally clicked after all that

@daniel_dhawan Dedicated asf, incredible product came out of it 💪 cheers! and congratulations GOAT