Does Failure Lead to Success? I sure hope so

[Ptrulli]

I wanted to share this post with the world to vent a little bit. I have tried my hand in various things, and all my startups have failed.

What do I consider failure, failed to gain any interest, failure to provide monetary compensation, failure to work on something I enjoy doing, failure in creating my own preferred lifestyle.

But why? Why do some gain massive followers and others hardly get anything? Is it truly the efforts put into the product. For this post lets define product as SaaS, e-commerce, productized product.

Does success hinge on research prior too committing to a product, niche, or service? Is that the way to success? Does it hinge on selling something that the end user truly needs and desires? Is that the secret formula?

My experiences: Amazon FBA - Failed after using tools 'jungle scout'. Investing into PPC and lost money. Lesson learned, you need to be unique in what you sell, have a better spin on it, and be sure to target high margins. Result -$$$

E-com / Drop shipping * 3 - Search google trends, keywords, confirmed good search results, setup the landing page ran ads inside various platforms. Result -$

SaaS apps - failed - Shipped w/o speaking to potential customers along the way. Result -$$

Newsletter failed - not much attraction = not many subs.

All this failure is suppose to teach me something. It's suppose to propel me into the next phase but it has not.

It did cement failure sucks, it's hard to make things that people actually want and i'm not even talking about paid products. As the example, newsletter a free thing was also a dried up pond.

My question is now what? I am tired of failing but I am not tired of trying. I will make this work one way or another. The question is HOW? How would you approach things if you were in my shoes?

I hope this honest submission of my thoughts can create meaningful discussion. Share your experiences, thoughts, emotions. How did you fail, Did you overcome it?

[stocktech]

I am in your shoes and I don't think we're alone. I have a long list of failed ventures and it sucks.

Thinking about this recently, I've attributed some of my failure to my youth. I use to be in such a hurry to be successful. Maybe it was ego or ambition or a twisted sense of competition with all the other 20-something founders, but building because you're "behind" definitely wasn't the right approach. And because I was in a hurry, I never stopped to really invest in an idea. I'd build something in 6 months and if I didn't see any traction, I'd move on to a totally unrelated idea instead of pivoting - truly throwing away my efforts.

I'm in my 30s now and life's slowing down. To some degree, my dreams of uber-success have died and I don't really feel that same hunger I use to. Maybe it's complacency, maybe it's just my age and refocusing on things that make me happy.

Don't get me wrong, I still work on side-projects, but I'm approaching it from a place of building on my strengths, rather than reinventing the wheel every 6 months. So I'm not changing ideas anymore, but pivoting to semi-related ideas where my work builds upon itself. I'm also focused on an industry I've been working in for the last decade. I've been able to reach out to my network to brainstorm and discuss the value I'm bringing to the table.

Who knows what will happen, but I'm not in a hurry anymore and I've found enjoyment in work, life, and my project.

[Ptrulli]

Hey, I agree I'm sure plenty of entrepreneurs can relate. I'm in my mid 30's also, but I still find myself pivoting frequently. I think it may be a balance issue in my case. Meaning, working a full time job and having family that need my time and attention. In this case, I try to find something that sticks, and if not, I move on. But maybe that approach is flawed. Maybe the overall vision of becoming financially free is the wrong approach. Maybe it's a matter of focusing on something you really enjoy. Not enjoy as in for a few months but find something you love and has meaning. Maybe that's more fulfilling and will lead to financial reward?? I really no have clue, it's such a hard landscape to maintain, cut, water, weed etc. I'm glad you found enjoyment in what you do! I'm happy for you even though I don't know you. Good luck with the rest of your journey!!!

[jventura]

> Maybe the overall vision of becoming financially free is the wrong approach. Maybe it's a matter of focusing on something you really enjoy.

You may have a point here, or at least you have made me think about it.. :)

As with many people around here, I prefer to do my own things rather than waste time doing "work". Not that I'm lazy (as in sit on a coffee table all day), but I have lots of other interests. So I've been quite unhappy for the last couple of years because I'm going crazy (almost) trying to come up with ideas for monetizing side projects, so that I can live the dream. Unfortunately, similarly to you, nothing seems to be working.

I do also have a full time job (that is ok) and family to provide for, and they deserve the better parts of me. And I'm tired of going around in my head trying to come up with a miraculous idea and being unhappy in the process. Maybe I'm trying too hard to get out of the rat race, and although I consider myself technically proficient - i.e., capable of writing my own apps, maybe I'm just not as lucky as other people.

In summary, just to say that I am agreeing with you that maybe we (I) should just take it slowly, focus on something we enjoy and has (some) meaning.

[talmr]

I agree with the selected quote. I also feel burnt out sometimes but it just so happens that building software and learning new "stuff" has kind of become my main hobby.

I'd love to work on impactful and meaningful projects so at least if/when that opportunity comes at least the hobby will have paid off in terms of what I know.

[Ptrulli]

Appreciate your input here, and believe me reading your comment spoke to my soul! It's literally my struggle.

"maybe we (I) should just take it slowly, focus on something we enjoy and has (some) meaning."

A hard yes on this! I am going to try to shift my focus into something meaningful, enjoyable and see where that take me.

Good luck with your journey!

[helph67]

Take heart from Albert's opinion...https://www.azquotes.com/author/4399-Albert_Einstein/tag/fai...

If you're mainly running a one-man business, perhaps getting input from others could help? Seeking input from target clients can be useful.

[Ptrulli]

Thanks for the quote! Definitely resonates.

[madamelic]

>The question is HOW? How would you approach things if you were in my shoes?

1. If someone is selling a course on FB or YT, that business is dead and not worth pursuing because otherwise that person would be doing it themselves. FBA, drop-shipping and real estate are the big three.

I'd accept an argument for RE, but that's not a casual thing to get into, easy to blow your cash and you need to go long-term. Flipping wholesales is one I've heard bad things about.

2. You need more 'at-bats'. I am not sure the velocity you had with your previous Saas ventures, but launching full products every 6 - 12 months isn't going to cut it. In addition, when products aren't gaining traction after 1 - 2 months, you need to cut losses and move on. I have fallen into this trap twice now, of thinking a product just needs a bit more tweaking. Both of those projects have been been put on the backburner, so nothing says you can't keep the idea but do it later when you have more resources, research, eyes, whatever.

You need to launch smaller products faster. Target niches rather than big markets. You want to be going after small markets where no VC-backed companies are. A $10k MRR market is worthless to VC, but worth a lot to a single person. Caveat: You could carve a niche out of a VC-backed company and eat their lunch on that segment, by doing things that don't scale / serving that market better by building specifically for them.

Check out Pieter Levels (levels.io) and the wider indie maker community, if you haven't already.

3. Focus on a specific market. I see some indie makers say they don't have a market, but they pretty much always do. You want compounding returns rather than launching a lot of diverse products where your social media and previous gains have to be thrown out.

You want content marketing for product A, which you may shut down in a month, to bring you people who will be interested in product C, D, E...

You don't need a specific niche, but I've realized it would be better to focus on a community or general interest, rather than launching tons of products that have nothing to do with each other.

[Ptrulli]

Thanks for your response here, I like the quick launches of products, however, my coding skills are a hinderance here as im still learning. I understand your point however. I like the community advice, however I feel like this step takes time, the very things we are trying to cut out. Perhaps, by choosing a specific niche and always tailoring products around that niche may help build the community faster than switching niches often.

[taf2]

Did you learn anything you can use in your next attempt? Also maybe try again in a similar category. Iterate on similar things so you can build on what did work and remove what did not. Also successful outcomes are rarely felt as success... and the timelines can be in the period of decades... give things time

[Ptrulli]

I think time is the one thing I definitely disregard. Disregard in the sense I move too quickly, its just how my brain operates. Learn, push things out, rinse and repeat. That's typically my approach to things. I am going to try and slow down, let things marinate and see what happens.

[cyberdrunk]

My guess is that there's massive luck factor in determining the outcome. i.e. you can pursue multiple ideas and you can't know beforehand which one will pay off. Best bet is to work on stuff you enjoy and don't expect success.

[maverickJ]

Thanks for being open. Let's assume you have the right products to make it easier. Have you considered finding the right audience for your work?

You failures so far might just be that the right audience for your work has not yet been found?

This article https://leveragethoughts.substack.com/p/cracking-the-who-you... might help you.

[tstewart161]

I’m in a similar position to you, having just started a break from a side project I tried to cram into a business. The idea is a niche news aggregator for professionals like market researchers and consultants focused on a domain. The main take-away I’ve had is “if you make a good MVP, target the right audience, with the right messaging, with a real problem, you will get a very strong response. If you don’t get a strong response, one of those above aren’t true.”.

That’s changed my mindset to shotgun validation: focusing on testing many ideas that I believe are real problems, getting better at messaging (not too hard with a real problem and right audience), getting better at finding the right audience, and the easiest - make good enough MVPs.

What’s great: all of these skills are sharpened by the same thing...talking to customers! Now I keep a list of ideas as I get them, and try to test a few of them every month. If you have a real problem, you make your solution clear to the people with this problem, you’re going to get a serious response. I’m resolved to not waste my time building and getting burnt out on a problem until I’ve gotten “strong” validation now - it should be obvious when you have a real winner to work on.

Here’s my notes from my current side project I’m taking a break from. It’s a mess because I jot down a thought when it comes, but hopefully you can decipher it and get some value.

Learnings from Zip Form a great team and great partnerships for all aspects of the business Start with problem/solution fit and talking to real customers before any code (and create - not always code - MVPs FIRST!) Get advisors / investors! Talk to customers and find problem solution fit first! Get investment once I’ve found product/market fit (or even sooner like grants and incubators/accelerators) Don’t keep everything in your head https://areyouinterested.co ^ nice for MVPs (also Bubble) If I had a room full of my prospective customers, would they line up to sign up/hover around my table? Luck is HUGE - seek and develop ways to increase luck surface A good idea is one I can get real excitement from real customers to solve ALWAYS VALIDATE FIRST Network is everything Real problem + good messaging + targeting the right audience == strong response is validation Alone is not enough, harness on networks, movements, trends, partnerships, etc Find mentors by finding people doing what you want to be doing (find your future self) Work quickly Use no code platforms to get initial traction and signups Don’t give up too soon Build an audience as early as possible (content, meetups, building in public, etc) Get better at surviving plan A and pivoting Build in public! Talk about what your building constantly and share it - a serious and large problem will get interest Read others launches and starts on IndieHacker (their process) If my MVP doesn’t excite my target customer, it may not be a real problem How’d other products start? Sometime it helps to reframe things as “how quickly can I kill this idea” to focus on the most lethal and important validation first Look at the tactics other use on IndieHacker

https://www.marcuswood.io/blog/we-launched-a-product-with-15...

https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/j726l3/my_app...

https://www.swipe.page/p/from-an-airtable-to-10k-in-side-inc...

[Ptrulli]

First off thanks for your post, its been a great read and very helpful.

Most important the lessons learned you shared are great and I hope you don't mind i've made a copy to reference as the going gets tough.