Dear friends ,
In arena of entrepreneurship,we see every one glorifying success stories and boasting about achievements of successful entrepreneurs but no one disussses concept of entrepreneurial failures which is also very important concept. and which is absolutely unavoidable in journey towards success.
In our culture (Indian) where failure is considered a taboo and taken as negative point ,how do one handle the social ,financial and psychological dilemma that come with a failed venture.
In most startup failure cases where companies are bootstraped and self funded by entrepreneurs makes them more risk prone to bankruptcy in event of failure.
(Image Source Book :The Failed Enterprenure by Duncan Ridler )
If such an event of bankruptcy was to happen most of the entrepreneurs are not left with any other choice but to start a day job in order to raise funds and start again as raising funds are difficult and most of the time declined.
As such getting a day job is only option and as one reaches out to get a job one realises one has become completely unemployable and people don’t want to hire them as they have attempted to start a business which is considered as negative point by most of business in india they don’t see a value in some who has a failed startup experience.
(Alhough u have wealth of wisdom and experience most of the time you are rejected
and people are allergic to offer you a job as they fear you may startup again or you
may copy their business model or steal something from them 🙂 )
As such people are caught in downward spiral where they are not able to raise funds for starting up again and also not able to get a day job.
kindly share your experience,views and insight on what can be possible solutions to overcome such an event of failure and rebuild oneself to start again.
Also how to change the outlook of people who don’t Hire people with failed Startup backgrounds as they consider them a TABOO.
I strongly believe only entrepreneurs can build a strong and prosperous nation and
failure is first step towards success.
(Insight from Mr alok kejriwal will be highly valuable).
Thanks and Best regards,
P.chauhan
asha chaudhry
prashant,
if you are based in mumbai, i suggest you attend TheRodinhoods Open House on march 15th. we’re ‘Celebrating Failures’ so this is your chance to learn from other entrepreneurs’ experience and get quite a few answers you’ve asked here…
https://www.therodinhoods.com/events/therodinhoods-mumbai-open-house-in-march-2013
Prashant Chauhan
Sure will be attending
Karan Pandhi
Hi Prashant,
If you had a failed start up, and looking back for a job to raise the funds to pay off all the debts, don’t look for a job in the field you have qualified in, but in the field in which you failed.
As you failed in the start up it is best to go back to ground zero and start off, from being in that field learn your mistakes, and tell your new boss that you are here to learn and not to work. Learning is far more different from working.
Start from the assistant level, learn and then grow, and when you regain your confidence, go back to your start up and Ladies and Gentlemen Start your Engines and be back in to the race, but this time with more power.
And if anyone who feel broken down or felt beaten due to a failure, remember the golden lines of Mr. Rocky Balboa :
“ The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.
It’s a very mean and nasty place,
and I don’t care how tough you are,
it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.
You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.
But it ain’t about how hard you hit.
It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward;
how much you can take and keep moving forward.”
Its been 6 years waiting, planning and not giving up a dream, I have been fighting myself for a start up, never give up on your dreams, as those who see dreams are alive, the rest are just the next best thing to robots.
So never give up, failures are a part of future success, learn from it, face it, and conquer it.
Jerson James
When you fail as a businessman, you
* Mope around…. sleep in till 11, eat, sleep. Repeat!
* Cry, till the tears flow no more.
Then,
* become a Consultant & /or
* write a book; or a blog
* Learn more about your field; become a better consultant
Make some money in consulting and get back to your start-up.
Repeat if needed!
Prashant Chauhan
Thanks for the reply ,
But people dont offer you job in india once you say you have attempted a startup try any Trick on Book You can,Our culture is opposit to USA which is more Enterprenure friendly they see value in you when you say
you have attemped a startup.
Karan Pandhi
hi Prashant,
That is true India is never ever in their lives friendly to any failures, its not across only business but across all sectors, be it education, sports, or any thing else, you should seriously have a guru or a mentor to guide you through your thick and thin,it can be anyone, your girlfriend, your parents, your spouse, teammate, school friend, anyone, they will help you to revive socially, and fundamentally, they will be like a wall to hold you on to.
And as for the job, I feel now a days the scenario is changing may be not a lot bit a little bit, so I feel job is something you can do anywhere, start from small and then when people start recognizing your worth they will ask for you, I feel the corporate’s are just like football teams, trying to get the Messi and Ronaldo, so don’t try to be one of them but instead be an underdog, like Carrick or Xavi or Iniesta.
Don’t be seen but be heard, let people know about you, if can’t get in the same field, go to another ground and play(work), all the corporate’s won’t leave you out, there is always a job for each and everyone.
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal
I’m not sure what is the pain point here – the failure or the stigma of failure!!
Get over failing boss. Its the most healthy thing that can happen to you.
Trust me. Print your post and comments and read after 5 years. You will be laughing
Karthik Yanamandra
Hi Prashanth,
Talking of my personal experience. I have failed as an entrepreure once, we had to let go our office furniture, team, let go projects in hands, increasing debts and face bhashas from every one possible, all these happened because of number of reasons. Me and my wife were depressed for couple of months thinking the mistakes we have committed.
We cleansed our brains, started our ground work again. We identified the root cause for each problem, started concentrating on each problem and started closing them. Compared to last 2 years we have cleared 70% of our problems and we are sure of closing the remaining problems very soon. Steps we have done to close our problems
1) Identified the problem.
2) Identified the root cause of problem.
3) Ask ourselves what we want exactly and find an answer for our questions.
4) Communicating with each and every person to whom we have to pay money.
5) Restructuring the whole plan again.
6) Prioritize the immediate problems and look for solutions.
7) Approach and open up with relatives, friends who can understand you and help you.
8) Started working on projects which keeps up floating and stable the show. (Me and my wife are only working on Instructional Design and Graphic Design projects which is keeping us float and creating a confidence to our clients. They are now talking to us on bigger projects).
9) Play some good Action Games, Surprise you dear once with new recipes every day and meditate.
All the above steps took some time for us to understand and take up the challenge to start everything again from scratch. We never wanted to work anywhere, so it is a challenge for us to run every second and we faced criticism, long bhashans, help and support from family and friends. What we need at our lows is Patience, Confidence, Guts, Zeal and the Vision for which we have started the business
Now we are working on our own platforms catering to Education Sectors.
Coming back to Jobs for failed entrepreneurs in India, I really don’t know, b’coz I never tried to join one.
Cheers!!
Karthik
Abhishek Chhibber
This is the reason I love this site…coz everyone talks no-fancy stuff with open hearts.
asha chaudhry
abhishek… if there was an upvote or like or superlike button i would’ve clicked it!!!!!!
Alok Sharma
In India, 99% will not pay you consultation fee when you have already failed in that business.Even people will not consider you for free consultation .
The reason of visiting Alok’s Site is to know about practical problems and possible solutions which he applied in his business. We all know that we many know face the same problem but we to be prepared that problems will come for sure.
Just like Hindi movies we all only love happy ending.
Prashant Chauhan
Dear sir ,
Failure is not a issue one can fix it , More over its the stigma part and mindset of people towards failed enterprenures .
Jerson James
Hey Alok, point noted.
My idea may not work for everyone, but it could for some… failure in business need not mean that you are poor at your craft. It could simply mean that you are a poor business manager, or that you made some mistakes, or your idea was a poor one to start with, or something similar…
People hire consultants because they are subject matter experts and not because they do, or have run, successful businesses. If that were the case, then the guys at the top consulting companies would never be hired… So, if you fail at business, and all you have at your disposal is your subject matter expertise, try selling that.
Yes, you need credibility. So, you don’t need to announce to the world that you are a business failure (no one is asking you to parade your failure to the whole world). But, you need to parade your expertise. That will get you hired to be a consultant.
I could name a few individuals who took the route that I mention, should you be interested…
Dinesh Brid
Having been a failed entrepreneur 9 times over (seriously), life still looks good :-).
If you’re in Pune, let’s meet for a drink. Cry out loud for having failed. Happy to give you company & revive old memories.
Then get out there and weave another dream worth your chase. Get on with your next start-up man.
asha chaudhry
dinesh,
pune isn’t far from mumbai – if you can make it – pls come to the Open House on the 15th –
https://www.therodinhoods.com/events/therodinhoods-mumbai-open-house-in-march-2013
and in case you’d like to make a presentation on “celebrating failure” – pls send me an email – asha@rodinhood.com
Jerson James
Here’s one to start with anyway: https://entrepreneurindia.in/people/coverstory/high-finance/14286/
P.S. Read the story of Anand Rathi (Titled ‘The Comeback Man’) in the article, which the link will take you too. The rest of the stories are great, too…
Dinesh Brid
Hey Asha!
Thanks so much for your invite. I hate stages.
But I’d love to be there just to experience the glow on failed faces 🙂
I’m celebrating failure every moment & I’m loving it. Seems I just can’t give up experimenting with my career.
From BTL, to live events, Leather merchandise, movie marketing, digital marketing, reality tv, and the list just goes on.
I’ll try stacking up my failed start-ups in a PPT & dedicate it to Rodinhoods someday.
Btw: I did trick Alok to make me an offer at c2w just after I had a failed start-up. Whoever say’s it’s society stigma & bull crap else, give them a stick.
Cheers!
Alok Sharma
Hi James,
Top Consulting Companies do have a very impressive profile, huge list of successful clients and highly educated staff. New Consultants get work only due to there education in that area. there previous failure can only help good learning for them however there is a less possibility that anyone will pay them for this. Its just my opinion.
Thanks
Alok
Dinesh Brid
@AlokSharma – I’ve been a failed entrepreneur many time over. I don’t understand your logic here.
If you have it in you, and your experience talks, you’ll get your due respect & commensurate fees. #$@! your failure. Have a killer pitch. Get out there with confidence. Laser focus on your delivery.
Consulting is a beast. Expectations are high. You’re expected to match up to delivery standards of the vertical you’re in.
Can I help you craft your pitch?
Alok Sharma
Dear Dinesh,
I wont say I failed but yes, I have started many and end-up with no profit no loss. Still holding such 2 of my start-ups.
Its not about what I think, its about what people think, When I will say, I can help you in this and you pay me. As per my understanding they wont pay until and unless I have a good backup to support my views.
I fully understand that experience of failed entrepreneur can certainly help. Why I am convinced since I tasted this failure many times and every time I learnt a lot. however here I am talking about market of consultation business. How would I convince my client that I can consult you since I failed in this. I think the person who is paying first would like to see a fancy profile.
its just my opinion
Thanks,
Alok
Jerson James
Hi Alok, no one can argue with your experience. Our experiences are real, and they help form many of our perspectives & beliefs.
Let me start with this: consulting is not for everyone. It is merely one idea (there could be many) for how a failed entrepreneur could get back on his feet.
For consulting, expertise in a given area of business is what you need. If you don’t have any expertise worth selling – and supreme confidence to sell it – then consulting will never work for you… Think of it this way, if a Doctor set up a hospital, which failed, would he not be able to consult with those who are ill in the capacity of a doctor? Nothing takes away his expertise. Only, he would have to start anew from a small little dispensary, and build it from there on.
A ‘good back-up’ is a must in any field. That’s your proof of concept, right? And all of us, when we started of as entrepreneurs, started of by selling a dream, didn’t we? Many did not buy it. Some did. These became our ‘back-up’/ ‘proof-of-concept’. These helped us sell more.
A small bit of advice, then: (since you failed at a business) don’t try to consult clients in the area of business management or entrepreneurship.
A consulting practice, like any other business, is built up one brick at a time. An entrepreneur who has failed at an earlier venture and wants to get into consulting, would need to do so likewise…
But, then again, you don’t need to… You could, but you don’t need to… it’s just one among many ideas…
Aditya Singh
Look for other startups in your/ related fields. Probably those who have been able to reach some stage and join hands with them. You will be very well-respected and valuable for them.
Atleast, the startup world and founders should not feel the same way failure is seen at other places. We are a class apart, you know ! A healthy startup ecosystem is happening in India and will only grow.
kanchan.kumar
Prashant – Not sure if you were at the Mumbai open house on 16-Mar and seen my presentation.
Only message I’d like everyone to take back is – Hell is for real, but crawling out of the hell and getting a life back is not a fantasy. I am proof of that.
Would be be happy to help in whichever way I can.
Prashant Chauhan
Dear Kanchan,
i truly appreciate your humbleness from bottom of my heart ,i have seen your presentation on 16th march it was quite inspirational and i can completely resonate with what you might have gone through in your hard times its is also my story , would like to get in touch with you to join tie mumbai have sent a friend request on facebook .
thanks .
Prashant Chauhan
Dinesh ,
thanks for your reply , would surely catch up with you when i come to pune ,