I’m putting the proposition out there that we’re getting over our collective Kiwi hang-upabout startup and business failure.
That is, whereas in the past we’d write somebody off for having tried, and been not successfulin a new business venture – these days we’re much more inclined to encourage them to dustthemselves off, and get on with something else.
From that point of view, we’re becoming much more American in our attitude to ‘failure’,and as long as it is failure for the right reasons, are inclined to regard it as experience.
This was the basis of a speech I recently had the privilege of giving to the
Now, there’s no academic research that’s been carried out on this change in our collectiveattitude; not that I could find anyway.
And, in checking with
In talking about some of the anecdotal evidence for the proposition (see below), Sally made thefollowing observation.
“It is how these things become normalised. We’re gettingover the tipping point.”
Item 1.
Lightning Labs
.
Now this Wellington (and nationwide) initiative to fast track good ideas into investor-backablebusinesses saw nine February startups, pitch to would be financiers in May.
Four of the startups garnered over $2 million in investment between them. Just as notably in aSeptember press release was the unashamed dealing with and description of what the unsuccessfulfund-finders were up to.
Some are still building their business model, one’s taking an amateur sports funding concept toSouth America, and the other teams have moved onto other ventures. But, they’ll all be back for LLII next year. To all extent and purposes, this LL press release was a recognition, if not acelebration of failure, and of its absolute value.
Item 2.
The
TIN 100 report
,though in this context the discussion around the report which came out in late October.
TIN 100 report founder Greg Shanahan gets to meet a fair number of the founders of thesecompanies, including those of the TIN 100+, those smaller companies (less than $2 million annualturnover) hovering outside the main group.
“Most were baby-boomers, most were grey-haired,” says Shanahan.
What he didn’t say, but is sure to be the case is that a fair number of these CEOs will haveknown previous non-success.
This age group belies the notion that all entrepreneurs are in their twenties – and backs thestats that it is older people who actually begin more startups than younger (see a couple ofstudies,
The other ‘advantage’ of baby-boomer entrepreneurs is we’re more prepared have a go. At ourage, failure is in fact NOT trying.
Item 3.
A couple of years ago, the idea of getting together to commemorate a business failure would’vebeen an absolute non-starter. But the packed-out attendance of this offshoot of Lean StartupWellington on November 20 showed how cathartic people found the experience (I’ll get up next timeto demonstrate my non-success).
As the Dead Startup Society said on its Meetup page:
“Many of us have beeninvolved in startups that have failed – some quietly, some spectacularly, most somewhere inbetween. Come along to reflect and share our failures and the lessons we’ve learned fromthem.”
Laughing about failure, after you’ve swallowed its bitter pill, takes away its stigma.
This part of our NZ tall poppy syndrome (the knocking machine) is no longer the invisible anchorpreventing those of us who have failed for the right reasons, from getting out there and havinganother go.
Live long and prosper – as