For many entrepreneurs beginning their journey, failure is one of the first steps that eventually leads to their success. In some cases, the original idea that an entrepreneur looks to pursue is not what they bring to market. Potential failure should not be discouraging for entrepreneurs but inspire them to continue on their journey.
The following entrepreneurs are well known for their respective successes. However, in order to be at their respective points of success they also faced failures. Collectively they never let their failings deter them from achieving the success that they’ve had to date.
Bill Gates
“It’s fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
Bill Gates is well known due to his successful career working with Microsoft and his philanthropic pursuits. His journey to the position he has found himself in was not as straightforward as many would assume. Initially he faced failure, just as many other entrepreneurs do. Bill displayed his ability to innovate from an early age. He created his first computer programme at just 13 years old. His first entrepreneurial venture was at 17 when he developed ‘Traf-O-Data’. The system he created made traffic counters which ran on an Intel system. While the potential for this business was promising, it failed. Following his first ‘failure’ Bill went on to study in Harvard for a period. Initially he began studying Pre-Law before switching to Mathematics and Computer Science. After two years Bill dropped out of Harvard in pursuit of creating his own business which we now know as Microsoft.
Vera Wang
“Success isn’t about the end result; it’s what you learn along the way”
Vera Wang, one of the most notable wedding dress designers did not initially have this career in mind. Vera initially had her sights set on becoming a member of the US figure skating team. This was not meant to be for Wang and she was rejected from the team. She did not let the rejection deter her and went on to become an editor for Vogue magazine. During her time at Vogue she was once again faced with rejection when she was not promoted to the position of Editor in Chief. Following this she moved on to work for Ralph Lauren for a period before at 40 she was faced with an issue that she wanted to resolve. When looking for her own wedding dress she was frustrated with the styles on offer and set about designing her own before commissioning a dressmaker to create it. Wang was not someone to shy away from a challenge and it was her persistence and drive that led to the beginning of the Vera Wang Bridal House.
Jeff Bezos
“Big failures” are a necessary part of the journey toward success”
Jeff Bezos entrepreneurial journey began at a time when he was working in a secure job. It was during his time at that job he came up with an idea that he could use the internet to begin selling books online. To look back on this idea it seems pretty simple. However, in 1994 it seemed crazy that someone in a stable position would decide to willingly leave their job to take a chance like that. At the time the internet was not nearly as popular as it is today but for Jeff his decision to pursue this idea has evidently paid off. When he initially began the business he packaged and delivered the books himself. His humble beginnings, dedication to growing the business and taking chances has led to Amazon becoming the business that it is today. Even with all the company’s success there were many initiatives and products that failed such as the Amazon Fire phone which led to a $170 million loss for the company in 2014. However, Jeff has used failures such as this as a learning curve and moves forward with new initiatives in order to grow the company from strength to strength.
Failure can be daunting however it is important to remember that every entrepreneur must start on their journey somewhere. While these entrepreneurs went on to find global success they still faced the same challenges and obstacles that all entrepreneurs do. Failure should not be a deterrent but instead viewed as an opportunity to move forward with greater insight and knowledge on how you can make your business succeed.
