Your Startup Failed, Is There Hope After Failure ?

Ravi Kikan
Ravi is a Mentor at MentorEdge ( A CIIE- IIM-A initiative), A Knowledge driven enterprise. He is a Growthhacker for Startups, Online Community Builder, Startup Connector and B2B Marketing Expert.

You Did Not Fail, Your Venture Did.

Hope is one thing which is significant and one of the most important things beyond, passion, planning and perseverance when you startup your dream venture.

We don’t start to fail but sometimes when you fail all things come crumbling down.

BUT HEY.

Never loose hope, the best is always yet to come.

YOU LEARN AND EVOLVE.

I have failed many times, started a new venture or in my job started a new vertical, I failed…but did not repeat the same mistake twice…learned and started back again for success. Talking to many entrepreneurs and experts from across the globe who have been successful in their ventures or corporate stints …..one thing came to light….

Failure sometimes is the step stone to success

In this amazing book “Startup Of You” Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha talk about

The Startup Of Your Mind Set: Permanent Beta

Post giving background to the downfall of many tech companies they talk about the biggest reason of success or evolution for a startup is that everyone should be in constant

Work In Progress Mode

Having said that it is what they call as being in “Permanent beta” Evolving and Learning all the time.

So asking many entrepreneurs and mentors from across the globe, I threw open this question in the Startup Specialist Group on Linkedin ” Is There Hope After Failure ” and got some amazing responses which I wanted to share with you.

Related: But What If I Fail?

Take these as step stones to turn your negatives into positives and start again but with caution and due diligence:

1. Discouragement and Failure are the two successive keystone for Success!
2. David Nelson in the discussion said an amazing thing “Business failure should be a badge of honour. At least one tried. the failure is not the failure of a business enterprise but rather a failure to learn from it. The key is to pick one self up and start again, and again, and again. Never give up“
3. Sanghamitra Mandal added an awesome line: So let’s all remember those good old words — stay foolish, stay hungry, to achieve what we love. And good mentors can really help us in doing it, so let’s also listen.
4. Michael Young, CFA added: I think all great entrepreneurs fail at something don’t they? If you are not trying new ideas, new ventures, new projects, you are not trying at all. A great entrepreneur is someone who wins big once or twice – doesn’t matter how many times he failed before then
5. Robert M Wenzel added: There is always hope after a failure. Finding your start-up that is a great fit to you is the key factor to success. However, taking advises is crucial for reaching your goals, I think.
6. James Vena gave a great example “Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.” Niccolo Machiavelli

I guess the gist what came out is to always be in constant motion but yes to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them again. It is a perception all the time.

Do your due diligence, listen and learn from people who have been on the same path, rework your intelligence and research, plan your journey well….Startup again 🙂

Related: Why Startups Fail – 5 Key Reasons For Failure And How To Overcome Them

So what are your thoughts ?

May I invite you to share your thoughts and experiences and feel free to share this thread with someone who might want to read and take a dig.

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