What if entrepreneurs never fail?

[Nebyl]

As an entrepreneur myself, I live under the pressure of failing my startup everyday. And I think I have a solution to beat this feeling by a concrete service. What if there is a service I can offer you to work and focus on your own startup, without fearing failing it? It's a new startup idea I'm working on, and I'd like your feed back on it. Is it worth it for you? would you apply for such a service? Thank you for your answers and feedback.

[MalcolmDiggs]

Well, what's failure?

If failure is the total loss of an entrepreneur's own capital, then VCs and Angels already do this. They (in some cases) completely insulate the entrepreneur from losing his/her own capital in the business.

If failure is the lack of a return, or the lack of profitability, then I would expect any service to lie on the typical risk/reward curve associated with all financial instruments. That is: if your service eliminates all risk, it should also eliminate all reward greater than whatever T-bills are returning.

So it's hard to imagine what kind of service you could be talking about.

[Nebyl]

Hi Everyone and thank you all for your thoughts, it is nice to hear different perspective from fellow hackers.

I'll try to summarize all the answers to your questions in one post. First of all, I'll begin by defining failure in this particular context. It will be the loss of your capital and incomes that are all based on your startup. The fear behind it is not to be able to provide for itself or its own family and loved ones.

To pursue in the idea itself, it's a financial service based on a business model inspired from the shared economy concept. It is going to be an additional service that an incubator can offer but definitely not replace it, and unfortunately I can't disclose more information for now as I'm still waiting to close the legal part of this model.

The image davismwfl described made me really laugh, because he's right, it is awfully too good to be true :) but please bear with me, and allow me to earn your trust, at least in this topic :)

Thank you all again.

[nsitoula]

Frankly speaking, I think you need to throw some more light on the 'service' you are talking about. As an entrepreneur and/or a probable customer, I want to understand what your service/offering is and how it will help me mitigate the risks associated with my venture or help me overcome the fear of failing.

[HIPAAtrek]

If a startup never fails, it will never be successful. Failures (or the fear of) are what causes us to drive forward. They are how we learn what works and what doesn't work. Businesses must fail in order to drive innovation. Innovation is driven by the failure of a current solution. I, personally, would never be interested in a product or service that guarantees I wouldn't fail; because, that would mean I am not innovative or even relevant.

Without failure, what is a success?

[Nebyl]

Thank you HIPAAtrek, it is really one of my main concerns. I myself failed in my professional life, and I don't consider this as loosing money, but as an investment in my knowledge capital.

But is it really the only way to learn? or the only way to be innovative or even relevant as you say?

Many examples crossed my mind that contradict this, we can discuss them if you want :)

[davismwfl]

I second nsitoula's comment. I am interested but confused what you would be offering that could help stem what I think are fairly normal feelings for any entrepreneur.

Honestly, the image I had in my mind when I finished reading your post was an old time snake oil salesman standing on a soap box trying to sell the magic elixir to cure everything from boredom to cancer. Sorry, not saying you aren't legit just sounds too good to be true kinda thing.

[phantom_oracle]

Isn't this what an incubator does? It kind of shields you from "going it alone" and provides a pathway for growth by maximizing benefits and minimizing risk?

[Nebyl]

Exactly, it is going to be a new layer on top of this. An additional service that an incubator can offer.

[Mz]

Not everyone does what they do to make a buck. If Einstein had failed, the world today would be a different place. Paying him money to make him feel better about that would not begin to make up for what the world would have missed out on.

You are basically talking about insurance. I was in insurance and I have a pretty low opinion of it. Insurance is billed as "risk management." It's billed as "we will be there for you in your time of need." It would be more honest to claim it is kind of like Las Vegas, but in order to hit the jack pot, something really bad has to happen to you first. Real risk management is about trying to make sure bad things don't happen in the first place. It isn't about going "Oh, look, now that life has crapped all over me, I have a big check to make my suffering seem somehow okay."

Let me respectfully suggest you go do something else. I don't see how you can begin to value unborn dreams. How could you possibly know that Microsoft would be worth billions until after the fact? How can you possibly tell in advance which two guys in some basement or garage will be world changers and which will be remembered as "losers"?

[Nebyl]

Hi Mz,

First of all thank you for your input, but I think there is misunderstanding here and it is probably my fault as I'm not giving enough details for now. So allow me to clarify : it is not an insurance.

You put it awfully obnoxious when you say that people can predict a billion dollar company when it is still in a basement, but isn't what investors and incubators do? They believe in the "born idea" and they nurture it by supporting it with investments, training, coaching, tips etc... It's a way to predict the value of those dreams, and drop the failure rate to the minimum (38% in the case of YC). So what about an abstract layer above all this that can make drop this rate even more?

I will respectfully decline your suggestion to do something else, because the idea is maybe strange, but it is viable even if I can't talk more about it and most important: I really believe in it.

[paulhauggis]

"Not everyone does what they do to make a buck."

Then they aren't in business and shouldn't be called an entrepreneur.

[Mz]

So add one word: Not everyone does what they do just to make a buck.

If money is the only reason you are in business, you probably aren't worth buying anything from. Con artists, pyramid schemes, thieves -- those people care about money or profit first, a whole lot of other things much less or not at all. Business people should be trying to first add real value to the world and second get a fair share of that value coming back to them. Otherwise, we have lots of other less nice words for them than entrepreneur, such as profiteer.

Have a happy holiday.

[Nebyl]

Hi Mz, I don't understand why you are judging an idea with such cruel words without knowing how it works yet. And yet I'm still interested in your opinion without having you treating me as a scam or conman. Thank you for being more comprehensive and a little bit less accusing.

[jf22]

Sounds too good to be true.