Imagine applying for the same opportunity five times.
You don’t win the first time.
Or the second.
Or the third.
Or the fourth.
Most people would probably take the hint.
Al Bozorgi didn’t.
On his fifth attempt, his company Twipes won $1 million through 43North.
But the more interesting part of Al’s story isn’t the million dollars.
It’s everything that happened before it.
Having Money Doesn’t Mean You Know What to Do With It
Al’s entrepreneurial education started early.
At just 18 years old, he suddenly found himself with roughly $400,000 after his brother in law sold a skincare company to L’Oréal.
That’s a lot of money for anyone.
For an 18 year old?
It’s life changing.
But within a couple of years, Al was basically broke.
And looking back, that experience became part of his education as an entrepreneur.
Sometimes losing money teaches you things making money never could.
Stop Trying to Avoid Failure
A lot of entrepreneurs spend an incredible amount of time trying to make sure something works before releasing it.
Perfect website.
Perfect product.
Perfect branding.
Perfect plan.
Al’s philosophy is almost the opposite.
Get something out there.
See what happens.
Learn.
Adjust.
Go again.
That doesn’t mean being reckless.
It means accepting that you’re probably going to get things wrong.
The goal isn’t avoiding every mistake.
It’s learning from mistakes before they become expensive ones.
Your Friends Might Be Terrible Customers
This was one of my favorite lessons from the conversation.
When you’re starting something, who do you usually ask for feedback?
Friends.
Family.
People who already like you.
That’s exactly the problem.
They’re naturally biased toward you.
They don’t necessarily represent the person who will actually pull out their wallet and buy what you’re selling.
Real validation happens when someone who doesn’t care about hurting your feelings is willing to pay for the product.
That feedback is worth a lot more than:
“That’s such a great idea!”
Stop Being So Secretive About Your Idea
Entrepreneurs can get weirdly protective of ideas.
We convince ourselves someone is waiting around the corner to steal the million dollar concept we just came up with.
Al challenged that thinking.
An idea by itself isn’t worth much.
Execution is.
Someone can hear your idea.
That doesn’t mean they’re willing to spend the next several years actually building it.
Talking about your idea can actually help you find weaknesses, meet the right people, and improve the business before making expensive mistakes.
Don’t Chase Walmart First
Another practical lesson from Al was about knowing when you’re actually ready for a huge opportunity.
Every startup wants the giant customer.
Walmart.
Target.
A massive national contract.
But landing something that big before your company can handle it could actually hurt you.
Sometimes the smaller customer is exactly what you need.
They give you an opportunity to test.
Learn.
Fix mistakes.
Build systems.
Then when the giant opportunity finally comes along, you’re actually prepared for it.
Four No’s Didn’t Stop Him
This is probably the part of Al’s story I’ll remember most.
He applied to 43North five times.
Think about that.
After rejection number four, there were plenty of reasons to stop.
Maybe they don’t like the idea.
Maybe the company isn’t good enough.
Maybe it’s time to move on.
Instead, he came back again.
And attempt number five resulted in a $1 million win.
There’s a lesson there that goes beyond startup competitions.
Sometimes a no means no.
But sometimes it means:
Not yet.
Final Thought
Al’s journey took him from London to Buffalo and eventually to a $1 million startup win.
But this episode isn’t really about winning $1 million.
It’s about everything required to still be standing when the opportunity finally shows up.
Failing.
Learning.
Listening to actual customers.
Putting your idea into the world before it feels perfect.
And being willing to try for the fifth time when the first four didn’t work.
A lot of entrepreneurship is simply staying curious enough to learn and stubborn enough to keep going.