Most Popular Failure Stories and Lessons to Learn – 2
When we listen to what technology writer Ahmet Usta says, we see that there must be a balance between being able to think commercially in the world of entrepreneurship and meeting the expectations of investors for this and the success of the venture. This is very common in failure stories.
“From a child selling lemonade in the market to a website that provides services to billions of people, the common aspect of all enterprises is; There is a product and customer relationship in the middle. Usually a new venture idea arises out of a need. An entrepreneur sets out to turn something he or others need from the idea in his head into reality. An entrepreneur aims to solve a problem or respond to a need, and sometimes even a product can be developed to create this need before the need itself arises. However, the priority of traders is not to solve a problem, but to make money. From time to time, a trader can become a good entrepreneur, and an entrepreneur can become a good trader over time. What the modern capitalist system desires is to create company models that can combine both qualities and create synergy.”
When we listen to what technology writer Ahmet Usta says, we see that there must be a balance between being able to think commercially in the world of entrepreneurship and meeting the expectations of investors for this and the success of the venture. This is very common in failure stories.
The trader's approach of investors towards the ventures they are interested in can harm the startups at the very beginning. Investors also need to have an entrepreneurial spirit and not only financially support the ventures they fund, but also need to make their approach more inclusive.
Let's recall our initial thoughts on startups like Uber, Airbnb, Ola, Groupon, Slack. There were other similar initiatives at that time as well. However, with the right timing and the right planning, all of them left their competitors behind one by one. We should not forget that even the most profitable companies in the world today, such as GE, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, are startups at first. What do you think might be the most important topic among the founders of these companies? Of course failure. We all know the stories about the failures of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Now let's remember the failed attempts of big companies that have sunk into oblivion.
Everyone knows that Colgate is a brand that produces products related to oral health. Well, did you know that in 1982 the company launched frozen food products under the name "Colgate Kitchen Entrees"? Its motto is: "Eat your Colgate meal first, then brush your teeth."
Another example is Pepsi, which is now one of the biggest brands in the world. Pepsi officials put a product called Pepsi AM for sale in 1989 with an insight that wouldn't be considered so unreasonable. After all, what coffee and cola have in common is caffeine. For product developers, Pepsi AM was a great replacement for morning coffee.
We can multiply these examples. In short, the steps taken by even companies with the most competent employees and sufficient financial resources may fail. Can the challenges faced by these brands, the few competitors of their time, match the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the new world?
Relationship between failure and dreaminess
There are more than enough helping hands in the new world to help startups address their problems and help them succeed. But if a startup's failure rate is too high, the only thing missing from the solution may be what we call "Dreamers". Dreamers is a casual term for successful people who can look at a product and realize that it can be used in a completely different industry. For example, "Losec", known as an ulcer medicine, was developed for a completely different purpose during the production phase. But it later became the most widely used drug in the treatment of ulcers, and by 2004 more than 800 million patients worldwide were treated with it.
After all, it can be challenging for entrepreneurs focusing on introducing a new product or service to adopt this approach. However, there does not seem to be any reason why the investors funding the venture should not take such a view.