From Pass to Close: The Founder’s Guide to Rejection Recovery
How to Turn a VC's 'No' Into Your Next Strategic Advantage
Dear Founders,
Welcome to the latest edition of the Healthvc newsletter!
You nailed the pitch. They smiled. They said they’d discuss with the team. Then… silence.
Rejection isn’t the end. It’s your chance to build leverage.
Here’s how to turn “we’re going to pass” into “how much is left in the round?”
“We’re going to pass, but keep us updated.”
“Really liked the conversation, just not the right time.”
“You’re building something great — but we’ll sit this one out.”
It stings. Especially after the third meeting. Especially when the pitch went well. Especially when you were already picturing the logo on your slide.
But here’s the truth: every founder, from seed to Series D, hears no more often than yes. What separates the best from the rest isn’t how many term sheets they collect — it’s what they do after the rejection.
This issue of HealthVC is about what happens next.
Because rejection is not the end of the relationship.
Handled well, it can become the beginning of one.
We’re going deep into how to extract real value from a pass, how to follow up without begging, and how to build a system that converts soft no’s into future yes’s — with receipts, not wishful thinking.
The Psychology of the Pass
VCs rarely say “no” like you expect them to.
They’re not ghosting because they hate your pitch. They’re not passing because you’re unbackable. They’re passing because, at this moment, there was too much friction and not enough conviction.
And they’ll rarely tell you that directly.
Here’s what a VC “no” often really means:
“You’re too early” = “We can’t underwrite this level of risk right now.”
“It’s not our thesis” = “You didn’t connect your vision to our conviction.”
“We’re overloaded this quarter” = “You didn’t create enough urgency.”
“We need to see more traction” = “You haven’t shown how this becomes big.”
These rejections aren’t final. Their feedback is in disguise.
The best founders know how to decode them, document them, and re-engage with stronger proof points.
But first, you need a system.
