Carousell / Quek Siu Rui

They were idea #41 out of 40 slots. Nearly rejected twice. Then someone offered them US$100 million. They said no.

I've bought and sold things on Carousell more times than I can count. You take a photo, write a price, and someone messages you in 20 minutes. It feels obvious now.

Here's what I didn't know until recently:

Carousell almost didn't exist. Twice.

In 2012, three NUS students entered Startup Weekend Singapore. Quek Siu Rui, Lucas Ngoo, and Marcus Tan. Their idea: a mobile app that makes selling your old stuff as easy as posting a photo on Instagram.

There were 80 submissions for 40 slots.

They were idea number 41.

Rejected. Out. Done.

Then a team dropped out. They snuck in as the last to pitch. After pitching, they fell short of selection again. But again, other teams pulled out. They were the last team selected to actually build anything.

Nearly rejected twice before they even wrote a line of code.

54 frantic hours later, they won first place. Beat 40 other ideas.

But here's where it gets interesting.

They named the company after the Kodak Carousel slide projector from Mad Men. The scene where Don Draper explains that the device doesn't just show old photos. It makes you feel like you can go back. It turns old things into something you want again.

That's literally what Carousell does with old goods. The first item sold was a Kindle e-reader for S$75.

Quek chose the startup over an honours degree and a Silicon Valley job. Marcus left Oracle. Lucas balanced full-time school with full-time startup work.

Two years later, Quek was 26. Someone made an offer.

US$100 million.

The buyer has never been publicly identified. But the offer was real.

Quek said no.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We want to build an enduring company."

Think about the math. Two years earlier, he was idea #41 of 40. Nearly rejected from existence twice. He knew firsthand how fragile startups are.

And he still turned down $100 million at 26.

Today Carousell operates across nine markets. Over 250 million listings. Revenue past $200 million. A billion-dollar valuation.

Here's the thing that keeps coming back to me:

Everyone talks about the courage to start. Quek's defining moment wasn't starting. It was refusing to stop.

The kid who was idea #41 decided that $100 million wasn't enough. Not because he was greedy. Because he believed the thing he almost wasn't allowed to build was worth more than what anyone was willing to pay for it.

What's something you almost gave up on that turned out to be worth the wait?