University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Founder Exposed: Opening Up About Startup Failures and Vulnerability
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Founder Exposed: Opening Up About Startup Failures and Vulnerability

Jeff Ward
First Round Review, 2019
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Engaging
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

The start-up world isn’t just black-and-white stories of massive successes and dismal failures. The whole truth includes shades of gray, though the nuances don’t often show up in tech articles which usually cover straight-up disasters or billion-dollar acquisitions. Entrepreneur and investor Jeff Wald wants founders to talk about their failures – not years later, viewed through the soft glow of later successes, but as they’re happening, when the pain is freshest.

Summary

As a startup founder, share the ups and downs of your story as it's happening.

When Jeff Wald lost his first start-up, Spinback, he slipped into a depression and was so broke that he almost had to move back in with his parents. “Every founder thinks there was something unique about them that made them fail,” he says, “but your failure doesn’t define who you are.” Wald didn’t talk about his time at Spinback until he'd successfully founded another startup, although he would have benefited more by talking about it in the midst of failure. Opening up to peers in the start-up community allows for...

About the Author

Jeff Wald is an entrepreneur and investor. He co-founded WorkMarket, an ADP company.

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