keep trying
in the spirit of MIT FAIL!, and recent posts by Jay Werber and Jeffrey McCutcheon, i am sharing a selection of our rejected applications throughout the years:
2019: Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) Pitch to Pilot*
2020: J-WAFS at MIT/Deshpande Solutions program, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) Catalyst*, Activate Fellowship, SeaAhead Blueswell Incubator, BoR DWPR Program*
2021: Activate Fellowship
2022: Activate Fellowship, MassChallenge
2023: National Science Foundation (NSF) SBIR Project Pitch, Imagine H2O, Gulf Blue Navigator
2024: MassCEC InnovateMass, Elemental Impact
these were each grants or programs which i thought we had a good chance of receiving. i’ve left out applications which i concede would have been a stretch.
2020 was tough! four years ago, these rejections were hard to swallow. much care and effort goes into an application where you are asked to dream up an alternate reality, complete with project timelines and budget breakdowns. you submit, then wait for a decision. if you’re feeling optimistic, that alternate reality becomes your actual reality, at least for some moments. hope is exciting! and then several months later, an email arrives to quash your dreams and you are definitively transported back to this parallel universe.
as an entrepreneur you must become accustomed to rejection - Haig and i have discussed this in depth. nowadays, i move past bad news quicker. i must admit these decisions can still surprise and irk me a bit.
on the other hand, Harmony Desalting’s continued existence is thanks to the support of seven key programs, three of whom had previously rejected our earlier proposals:
2021: BoR More Water Less Concentrate
2022: *MassCEC Catalyst, National Alliance for Water Innovation
2023: *BoR Pitch to Pilot, GPID - Global Prize Innovation in Desalination
2024: *BoR DWPR Program, PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency
this list of “successes” is the one that gets publicized on resumes, websites, pitch decks. but the longer list of “failures” was also a necessary part of the journey, with many more to follow and learn from. i think of these attempts as shots on goal. just gotta keep them coming.
at least these programs notify you of their decision, sooner or later. i’m finding that talking to potential investors can be more like the worst of modern dating. i’ve already been ghosted once!