Re: Premise A, a good application is not about "doing literature", it is about being able to describe clearly what you are building, why it is going to be a great business and why you are the right people to build it. It is harder than it looks and has to do more with how well you understand your business and less with writing skills.

Re: Premise B, there are plenty of people that get rejected at one point, keep going, and join later on. The Strikingly guys got rejected once.