I attended the Apps for Good Awards last night. Very inspiring it was too. As always, the young people were very impressive. Whatever question I threw at them, they were able to answer it. But for now at least, I just wanted to repeat something that the co-CEO of Apps for Good, Debbie Forster, said at the end of the evening.

Girls from The Abbey School talking about their app Problem Pals

Addressing the youngsters who had not won an award, she told them not to feel like failures, that every tech company represented in the room had experienced numerous failures, and that what they should do is carry on pitching.

This is great advice, and not just in the field of technology. I have in my loft a whole boxful of rejection slips from magazines, and I now have quite a few email rejection slips. Every rejection is like a punch in the stomach, but the thing to do, as Winston Churchill said to a roomful of students, is to never, never give up. Persistence pays. In my own case, for instance, not giving up led to my being published in numerous publications (I’ve listed them here).

So, I do hope those kids do take up Debbie’s advice, and also her kind offer to support them in their pitching.

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