From Rejection to Success: Riya's Startup Journey
From College Rejection to Startup Traction – Riya’s B2B Story
The Unexpected Beginning
Riya never imagined her professional journey would skip the lecture theatres. As the decision email from her top-choice university landed in her inbox, she sat in her parents’ small living room in Pune, feeling the sharp sting of rejection. Her friends were packing for Bangalore and Boston, while her plan A had evaporated overnight. For many, this is where the story stalls. For Riya, something quietly shifted. Instead of filling out new applications, she opened a blank journal and began writing down problems she saw around her city: “Why does every clinic I visit still use paper files? Why does our neighborhood wholesaler struggle with orders?” These scribbles would become chapters of a very different education—one Riya pieced together alone.
The First Spark & Early Hurdles
With her college dreams paused, Riya threw herself into volunteering at a cousin’s dental clinic. She noticed daily chaos: missed appointments, misplaced files, time wasted clarifying inventory with suppliers. Her cousin grumbled about time spent on admin instead of patients. Riya sensed an opportunity to solve a real business pain, even if she had no technical skills or fancy network.
She started with what she knew best: talking to people. She met with pharmacists, wholesale suppliers, and other clinics, amassing scribbled notes about their biggest headaches. The theme was clear—small healthcare providers desperately needed simple software for managing appointments, client data, and orders. Riya spent nights Googling “How to build an app without code.” After several free trials and YouTube marathons, she cobbled together a scrappy prototype using a basic no-code tool. Her cousin became the first test user. The early days were full of hurdles: users forgot passwords, the interface crashed, and a bug wiped out hours of work. There was no funding, no co-founder—just endless feedback loops and constant tweaks.
“I knew nothing about SaaS or B2B sales. Failure was always lurking, but I just tried to solve the next little pain. That almost made things less intimidating.” – Riya
Milestones and the First Signs of Traction
After three months, the pain points became punchy product features. Booking appointments took seconds. Orders to suppliers could be done through a click. Riya named her scrappy product “PulseFlow.” She began doing cold calls, offering free trials to neighborhood clinics. Most calls went unanswered, a few politely declined—but two clinics agreed to try it for a month. She set up their accounts manually, visiting to answer every question and gather feedback in person. The first month saw zero revenue, but when one clinic wired ₹1,200 for a software subscription, Riya’s confidence doubled overnight.
- PulseFlow reached five paying clinics within six months.
- Riya incorporated basic SMS reminders and inventory modules to solve the most nagging user requests.
- A major pivot came when she realized larger clinics needed integration with their existing accounting software. She taught herself to use APIs, stumbling through errors and forums, finally landing a pilot with a mid-sized clinic chain.
- Riya’s first intern—a computer science student she met at a local hackathon—helped clean up code and polish the onboarding experience, halving cancellations.
Within the first year, PulseFlow crossed ₹1 lakh in total revenue and onboarded its twentieth customer. Riya found herself juggling support calls and product bugs at midnight, often crashing on her laptop before sunrise. But, for the first time, she saw real proof: people were willing to pay for a product she built from scratch.
Lessons Learned Along the Way
The path from college rejection to product traction was rarely pretty, but each hurdle taught Riya invaluable lessons. Here are the principles she wishes every early founder knew:
- Start small, obsess over one customer’s pain.
Riya’s journey began by solving her cousin’s problem, not trying to build a perfect tool for everyone. This narrowed focus gave her direct, honest feedback and enough conviction to persist. - No-code tools can take you surprisingly far.
Building a functional prototype with zero tech background made it possible for Riya to test ideas before spending on devs. It wasn’t fancy, but it was real enough for users to try.
Learning sales matters as much as building product.
Cold calling strangers was deeply uncomfortable, and rejection happened daily.
“There’s nothing quite like pitching someone who doesn’t know you from Adam. Each awkward demo taught me what actually matters to customers—and made the next call a little easier.” – Riya
Above all, Riya realized founder journeys rarely follow a straight line, and that “Plan B” can become something better than expected if you keep moving forward.
A Different Kind of Graduation
Two years on, PulseFlow is serving over 60 clinics. Riya’s university rejection is now a story she shares at meetups to encourage young founders from unconventional backgrounds. She built her own classroom by speaking with users, failing publicly, and shipping relentlessly, one customer at a time. The hard days taught her that progress isn’t about big breakthroughs—it’s about not stopping after the first (or thirtieth) “no.”
What is your biggest takeaway from this journey? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
