The Ultimate Start-Up Guide

21

Failure (Part 2)

THOMAS EDISON

I HAVE LEARNED FIFTY THOUSAND WAYS IT CANNOT BE DONE AND THEREFORE I AM FIFTY THOUSAND TIMES NEARER THE FINAL SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT.

CROWDED OCEAN

THOMAS EDISON WOULDN’T HAVE LASTED A YEAR AS A VC.

SILICON VALLEY HAS A FASCINATION WITH DEATH, except we call it “failure.” There is no industry that tracks failure with such intensity and fascination as technology. Whether it’s a cheap form of psychotherapy or just good old fashion schadenfreude, Silicon Valley (or Silicon Alley, Silicon Desert, etc.) loves to dissect and then revisit failures for years to come. We have “autopsy” sites that list the stories behind more than 100 failed startups; we have RIP reports; we even have our own conference: FailCon. And, ...