Succeed in Failing

Everyone wants to turn their idea — their baby — into reality. Being a part of this venture building programme has given so much structure and clarity in ascertaining that possibility and, in some ways, the programme is a litmus test as to whether a product/service/technology can succeed.

Obsession with Success

Time and time again, the rhetoric that 90% of start-ups fail in their first year rang through (though being rhetoric didn’t make it any less true). There’s a whole industry filled with gurus and self-help books dedicated to encouraging founders to ride out the storms and persevere through the hardships of entrepreneurship.

Of course, this all rides on a few assumptions — that the business is viable, in demand and profitable.

We see in the case of the billion-dollar disaster Webvan how going too far and too fast with an idea that isn’t validated can have catastrophic effects for the business and its investors.

The key to success appears then, to not necessarily be how long the founding team can persevere with the idea, but also how quickly they realise that its place is in the bin.

Failing Fast, Falling Forward

With a few major pivots within the last few weeks, gears have shifted rather quickly. It was eventually decided that the best decision was to wrap things up. This was, admittedly, demoralising.

Yet it’s been exceptionally liberating to know the right decision was made, and quickly. Continuing with a business idea that had all the numbers going against it would have more than likely ended in a way worse situation than halting things before going all out.

Looking back, there’s nothing in this world I would trade with for this experience of taking ownership of something from start to finish. The process of building an idea, testing and validating it over the last few months is priceless.

Moving forward, this likely isn’t the end of entrepreneurship for me. Building for corporates is a great idea for gaining insights on running a company especially when it grows out of the start-up stage. Can’t go wrong with building that foundation as well as stronger a base of capital before embarking on the next journey.

Excited for what’s to come!