Failure. It’s a word I used to shy away from. Growing up, I didn’t fail much, and I felt good about that. But when I faced my first big failure, it hit me hard. The self-doubt felt heavy. Dwelling on it didn’t help. It took time and reflection to change the way I saw failure. Here are some lessons I’ve learned along the way.
Embracing Failure
Failure is everywhere. According to the Financial Times, about 90% of startups fail. In the consumer goods industry, around 70-90% of new products fail in their first year. Even large companies face failure nearly half the time.
If I’m not failing, I might not be stretching myself enough. Playing it safe can feel comfortable, but it rarely leads to extraordinary achievements. Growth happens when we take on challenges that push our limits.
Failure, then, isn’t an indicator of incompetence—it’s a marker of ambition and effort. If we want to grow and achieve something meaningful, we need to give ourselves room to fail.
Failing with Purpose
If failure is inevitable, the question becomes: Where should we fail?
Even though we intellectually understand that failure fosters growth, it’s still painful. It still carries a stigma. People say, “Don’t fear failure,” but let’s be honest—it’s scary.
During my entrepreneurial journey, I launched a product that didn’t take off. I tried to pinpoint the root cause. Was the solution not intuitive? Was the brand not original enough? Did my team lack the right skills? Some of these were true. But over time, I realized something bigger: Success isn’t just about effort—it’s also about patience, timing, and adaptability.
It took me a long time to understand that in startups, success often depends more on luck than skills, money, or networks. Building a brand takes years. Even companies with endless resources struggle. The world’s best branding experts can launch a great product with a huge budget, but real consumer traction often comes only after multiple pivots—and a little luck.
Since we can’t control luck, what matters most is resilience—the ability to keep going until luck finds us. And what fuels resilience? A strong why.
A deep reason for doing something gives us the strength to keep going when we face setbacks, disappointments, and even lawsuits. I used to think resilience was just about attitude. But now I see it as the result of strong inner motivation.
Looking back, I realize our biggest failure wasn’t about the product, the brand, or the team. It was that we weren’t clear on why we were doing it. If I could go back, I’d choose a project where the why was crystal clear. I’d work with people who believed in that purpose—not just those who knew the how.
Designing Failures: Think Big, But Fail Small and Fast
While embracing failure is crucial, recklessness isn’t the goal. If failure is inevitable, we need to fail strategically. That means designing failures that don’t cost too much. The key is to minimize risk while maximizing learning.
Instead of overinvesting in a product before testing its viability, we can create small-scale prototypes or pilot programs. Rather than relying on expensive consumer research, we can engage real users early and often.
Smart failure is about reducing the financial and emotional toll of setbacks. It’s about creating feedback loops that allow us to iterate quickly. Failure isn’t the enemy; stagnation is. If we treat failures as experiments rather than defeats, we move forward with greater agility and resilience.
Fail Forward
Failure only becomes a roadblock when we let it define us rather than refine us. When we shift how we see failure, it becomes a stepping stone for growth. The most successful people and companies aren’t those who never fail. They’re the ones who learn from their failures and keep moving forward.
I want to hold onto the reminder to embrace failure, learn from it, and keep failing forward.
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