I recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by Lee Turley of the Edison Equation about being a failure. It was a really great, off the cuff kind of interview that really makes you think about what it means to fail as an entrepreneur. Is it bad? Is it good? What did you learn? How were you better because of it? Answers to all these questions help every entrepreneur grow, and failing is a crucial step of entrepreneurship.
From their site:
“Thomas Edison is repeatedly quoted and sited for his perspective on failure. This perspective has seen many packages; “fail fast, succeed fast,” “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Those tag lines are great for movies but failure in reality is both sharp and blunt like the corner of a steel table.”
I rarely do interviews (and this one is kinda low quality due to internet lag), but I hope it explains a little bit about my philosophy on failure and my failures along the way. My wife and brother are starting a new company called evbe (or Everyday Better). Im hard on them. I have failed a lot and it has hurt. Hopefully they can learn from me to not get hurt so bad, but letting them fail is part of their growing experience as well. In the end, their product, and they as entrepreneurs, will be better for it :)