I've had my rejection letter as well and I was actually surprised how human and respectful was this letter. They're very good at marketing, it's like breaking up: it's not you, it's us! ;)
I think it's obvious that this rejection letter should not put a stop to your projects but rather keep improving them, that's what I'm gonna do.
I already applied to techstars and I will apply again at Y combinator. Next time I'll be ready!
I'm looking for a co-founder in order to launch a new mobile advertising platform for hyperlocalized marketing.
I know you did because you are probably emotional about it :) You may not be part of the majority but I've lived and traveled in Europe all my life and I can assure you that it is not a stereotype, probably not even 70% but more than 50%. it is a fact that politics, languages, history, cultures and lack of cohesion are barriers for expansion. Most poeple, besides uk, germany and scandinavia, in Europe work less and complain much more than in america (also because they have more weight,rights & insurances). How can you solve a problem if you fail to acknowledge it first? If Europe is still not a startup hub, that's the reason why. So I welcome the initiative which is a proof of a will of change and good analytics.
I've realised a long time ago that human knowledge on animal intelligence was underrated. They may not be able to predict future observations nor to be able to remember trivial events from the past nor to create or use tools, but when you take a closer look at them, whether they are insects, fish or mammals, they can all sense danger and opportunity in nature. It's no automatic reflexes but true analytics of their environment. After all a worm is said to have an IQ of 1 when the IQ of a computer is 0. Animal kingdom is smarter than previously thought and most of them probably have emotions like fear, pain & empathy. This is no anthropomorphism but a true fact.
The initiative is good because they have, at least, the objective of doing something about it. There is in fact a lot of startup accelerators and incubators being created in Europe based on Y COMBINATOR & TECHSTARS models. There are just not mature enough yet, but this will come. The problem is that, besides London, there is nowhere to go in Europe. The population is generally "old school" and is quite pessimistic, they are simply uninterested. In Europe, people want to work less and earn more while in USA, poeple will do just anything to succeed. It's no miracle that America is the best place for startups, Europe has a different cultures due to different lifestyles. Mentality changes with initiatives so I welcome this one and will wait to see the results before bearing a judgement. After all, when there's no evolution, there is a revolution! It's the moto of the french revolution and France is in Europe so let's be optimistic for this one ;)
I think it's obvious that this rejection letter should not put a stop to your projects but rather keep improving them, that's what I'm gonna do.
I already applied to techstars and I will apply again at Y combinator. Next time I'll be ready!
I'm looking for a co-founder in order to launch a new mobile advertising platform for hyperlocalized marketing.
You can support my application at TechStars at the following url: http://www.f6s.com/geome#main/ajax-summary
I'm still at an early stage but if you're interested, PM me and I'll explain you what this is about.
You can also follow me on twitter: @Nicrogo
Many thx!!