How To Fail With Grace And Live On To Fight Another Day Effectively

We are seeing record numbers of Startups close shop. With the end of ZIRP the rules have changed. As a Founder, how do you handle this enormous event in life, when you have to shut down?

I'll always be grateful for the advice my father gave me. "In the end, no matter what, be able to look everyone in the eye", he said.

It's been a long time since my first epic failure. A team, a couple million dollars of investment, passion around a vision, a product that customers wanted, what could go wrong? It turns out the the SEC investigating our key partner for a potentially monopolistic merger brought us down. We were "legally encumbered". It made no sense that we would be harmed by something so unrelated to our own efforts. But, sometimes meteors randomly fall from the sky.

In the end, because I followed my father's advice, I still see everyone as family. It was incredibly painful, but we did it right. You see, if you build relationships and operate with integrity then you will have connections that you can call on for life. Plan to need those people again, be honest and forthright, and operate with integrity.

Because if you do things right you can always try again. And that incredibly valuable resource, the connections you have made, will be there for you again.

Trying, failing, and trying again, that is what being an Entrepreneur is all about!