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Ask HN: How do you avoid one shot events and still be successful?

by jmilinion on 3/6/13, 11:53 PM with 7 comments

You have a job interview with X company and you have only one shot to impress them. You have a pitch with a VC, you only have one shot to show them what you have. You have a meeting with Y company, you have only one shot to sell your product.

I can't stand these kinds of events. How can you avoid them and still be successful?

  • by soneca on 3/7/13, 12:23 AM

    Well, just avoid thinking these events as one shot events. Prepare yourself for being a good professional, delivering a good product, for long term value creation. So when this opportunities show up, you just try, try hard and, if it doesn't happen, just move on. I don't believe anyone would ever have just one opportunity to be successfull. Normally the case is that you fantasize that one accomplishment, that job at Google, that VC funding.

  • by argonaut on 3/7/13, 7:03 AM

    Most of those are not actually one shot events.

    If you get rejected by X company, you can reapply later after gaining more experience or finishing new side projects that you can show off.

    If you get rejected by a VC, you can always come back and pitch again once you have better numbers to show off (users, traction).

    Etc. etc.

  • by orangethirty on 3/7/13, 3:27 AM

    I have failed at more businesses than most people here will ever dare to start. Products I spent time and money developing have had to be shelved due to circumstances outside of my control. Every day I get rejected by people (prospects) who I pitch to. Of all the investors I have pitched to, I have only managed to bring two on-board (on different occasions). I spend about four hours a week emailing and messaging people in order to get them to buy my products. Most of that time is lost on people who never respond. Its a constant uphill battle that only gets easier as you move along. You can't avoid any of this, because you cannot avoid failure.