Learning to embrace failure and learn from it
Failure is a crucial ingredient to success.
The idea that successful people never fail is one of the most damaging ideas for aspiring entrepreneurs and creatives. This false belief may lead you to avoid taking risks, exploring your full potential, and solving real complex problems because you think it may cause you to fail. In truth, failure is just a waypoint on the winding road toward success. Otherwise known as "the staircase theory of entrepreneurship."
We'll show you how successful people break down challenges into manageable pieces so they can tackle them without letting fear throw up obstacles in their way.
But failure happens. And it can be a good thing.
Entrepreneurs succeed or fail for many reasons — luck is a big one, we'll come back to that later — but the number one reason why startups fail is simple: they run out of resources due to poor management.
So how do you avoid becoming just another statistic? How do you keep your startup out of the graveyard while staying true to your goals and purpose? We talk with serial founder David Cohen about these challenges and more in this issue's interview. (For a quick primer on David, check out our July 2012 issue , where he talked about his origin story. )
Sometimes failing fast is faster than failing slow. Sometimes it's necessary to fail big. And sometimes failing just means you're doing something right.
But how do you really learn from failure? How can you bounce back and use your experience to bring something valuable to the table — something that will help you reach the next level and the next?
It isn't easy, but we've got answers that will help. We've assembled a collection of stories by entrepreneurs who have found themselves in tough spots and turned them around by embracing failure as an opportunity for growth and innovation while staying true to their vision.
"Failure is a crucial ingredient to success." — David Cohen
And we've asked five successful entrepreneurs to share their stories of failure. They are real life examples of how you can learn and succeed even when faced with the toughest challenges.
Gustavo Biedermann is the founder and CEO of MOB, a mobile advertising startup that has attracted funding from the likes of Sequoia Capital, 500 Startups, and Bessemer Ventures. He shares his story of failure and success after selling his first company at 27 years old, then trying to clone its success with a second company that failed miserably.
Michael Litt is the co-founder of Vidyard, a cloud video platform sold to Techstars portfolio company Constant Contact in 2015. Michael talks about an eye-opening experience that led him to take on a problem he knew nothing about and challenge himself to become a better entrepreneur.
Gary Helmick is the executive chairman of FirstRain, where he has overseen the company's growth from a scrappy startup in 2006 to a global software company that has raised close to $50 million from investors including Google Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Silicon Valley Bank. He shares his story of failure — twice — and how it helped him refine his entrepreneurial vision and move forward with new plans for expansion.
Patty McCord is the former chief talent officer at Netflix, where she was responsible for creating the company's acclaimed culture. After five years as CFO and chief talent officer of Flipboard, Patty is starting a new venture focused on human resources and how they can be better managed. She shares how her failed attempts to improve HR led her to create some of the most successful policies and practices in the business world today.
Mike Ternus is CEO of Vidyard, a cloud video platform that was sold to Constant Contact in 2015 for $90 million. He shares his story of failure, how it led him to create the work culture that has allowed Vidyard to grow and succeed.
We'll cover all this and more: stories from real entrepreneurs who have overcome failure and kept their vision alive despite the challenges they faced along the way. And we'll leave you with a few tips for keeping yourself motivated when things aren't going according to plan.
Brett Ransavage is an entrepreneur, author, and consultant based in New York City, where he advises startups in finance, technology, media & marketing. He's also the founder of The Ransavage Report , which focuses on critical issues facing entrepreneurs today. Follow him on Twitter at @BrettRansavage .
Christina Wells is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of OnStartups.com . She has been an entrepreneur since 2001 and has launched several startups in technology, media, and marketing. Follow her on Twitter at @cwells001 .
This month's issue of OnStartups Magazine is down below. You can read it here or flip through it on our Flipboard magazine , which makes reading magazines fun and easy for everyone!
This month's issue of OnStartups Magazine is down below. You can read it here or flip through it on our Flipboard magazine , which makes reading magazines fun and easy for everyone!
Here's the cover of OnStartups Magazine for July, by Piccasso/iStockphoto.
By subscribing to OnStartups, you get: This month's issue of OnStartups Magazine is down below. You can read it here or flip through it on our Flipboard magazine , which makes reading magazines fun and easy for everyone!
OnStartups is published monthly by the Editors-in-Chief of Startup Management . Sign up today to receive your first issue now — just $4.95/month for a free subscription for individual use, $79.95/year for a full-access corporate subscription, and $39.95/year to subscribe and distribute the magazine within your company.
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for next month's issue of OnStartups Magazine, with stories and insights from real entrepreneurs who have overcome failure and kept their vision alive despite the challenges they faced along the way. If you missed last month's issue, check it out here .
Brett Ransavage is an entrepreneur, author, and consultant based in New York City, where he advises startups in finance, technology, media & marketing. He's also the founder of The Ransavage Report , which focuses on critical issues facing entrepreneurs today. Follow him on Twitter at @BrettRansavage .
Christina Wells is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of OnStartups.com . She has been an entrepreneur since 2001 and has launched several startups in technology, media, and marketing. Follow her on Twitter at @cwells001 .
This month's issue of OnStartups Magazine is down below. You can read it here or flip through it on our Flipboard magazine , which makes reading magazines fun and easy for everyone!
This month's issue of OnStartups Magazine is down below.
Conclusion
You don't fail because of your teething problems. You fail because you stop solving them.
Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motors and inventor of the assembly line, famously said: "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." To give up on that opportunity, and not try again, no matter how difficult it may be — or how many times it takes — is one of the greatest failures of an entrepreneur.
When McCord started her second company in 1996, she had learned from her experience at The Kraft Group and was looking for a different kind of challenge. She knew there were problems with how human resources functioned in large organizations, and she wanted to solve those problems.