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We haven’t failed, but successfully shown it doesn’t work

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Re: We haven’t failed, but successfully shown it doesn’t work

#2
This whole 'we didn't fail' thing is just feel-good nonsense.

While they did indeed 'show that it doesn't work', they failed to create a company, and they failed to produce money for their investors. Those investors aren't saying 'Well, that was money well spent.' They are saying 'That was a failure.'

The fact that they are willing to invest again is a tribute to the company's handling of the situation and apparently technical know-how, not a sign that the investors are happy with the outcome.

Re: We haven’t failed, but successfully shown it doesn’t work

#3

This whole 'we didn't fail' thing is just feel-good nonsense. While they did indeed 'show that it doesn't work', they failed to create a company, and they failed to produce money for their investors. Those investors aren't saying 'Well, that was money well spent.' They are saying 'That was a failure.' The fact that they are willing to invest again is a tribute to the company's handling of the situation and apparently…

As mentioned in the post "Of course we would have preferred it if the solution would have been perfect, but at least we had the chance to give it a try"...

Re: We haven’t failed, but successfully shown it doesn’t work

#4

This whole 'we didn't fail' thing is just feel-good nonsense. While they did indeed 'show that it doesn't work', they failed to create a company, and they failed to produce money for their investors. Those investors aren't saying 'Well, that was money well spent.' They are saying 'That was a failure.' The fact that they are willing to invest again is a tribute to the company's handling of the situation and apparently…

As mentioned in the post "Of course we would have preferred it if the solution would have been perfect, but at least we had the chance to give it a try"...

And how is that not failing?

Re: We haven’t failed, but successfully shown it doesn’t work

#5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As mentioned in the post "Of course we would have preferred it if the solution would have been perfect, but at least we had the chance to give it a try"...

And how is that not failing?

When you fall you've failed at walking. But we all know that this is part of learning to walk. We can focus on the fail or on the process or learning. You obviously only see the fail.

Re: We haven’t failed, but successfully shown it doesn’t work

#6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how is that not failing?

When you fall you've failed at walking. But we all know that this is part of learning to walk. We can focus on the fail or on the process or learning. You obviously only see the fail.

Failure is not just a setback. A doctor has no problem saying if a child failed to learn X by Y age there may be a problem. That said there are ranges of failure, and handing money back to investors before you completely run out is a better option than running a company into the ground with nothing to show for it.

Re: We haven’t failed, but successfully shown it doesn’t work

#7
The way in which the failed product was handled is impressive, but I'm left wondering if there are any more details on the approach that failed?

Sharing why a given approach doesn't work could save others with the same technical idea from wasting time and money trying to turn the same idea into a product.

Re: We haven’t failed, but successfully shown it doesn’t work

#8

This whole 'we didn't fail' thing is just feel-good nonsense. While they did indeed 'show that it doesn't work', they failed to create a company, and they failed to produce money for their investors. Those investors aren't saying 'Well, that was money well spent.' They are saying 'That was a failure.' The fact that they are willing to invest again is a tribute to the company's handling of the situation and apparently…

It's true, but feel-good nonsense is sometimes a tool to get up and try again. It's hacking your own motivation, to use a popular (or maybe by now 'cliche') analogy.

I'm not usually a fan of 'self-help speak', but since I had some good experiences where it helped me, I'm not as negative as I once was.

Re: We haven’t failed, but successfully shown it doesn’t work

#10

This whole 'we didn't fail' thing is just feel-good nonsense. While they did indeed 'show that it doesn't work', they failed to create a company, and they failed to produce money for their investors. Those investors aren't saying 'Well, that was money well spent.' They are saying 'That was a failure.' The fact that they are willing to invest again is a tribute to the company's handling of the situation and apparently…

I agree with most of what you say, but (probably because I come from academic research) disagree with the spirit. This sounds a lot to me like a grant propsal:

   Team: "Hey, we think  is an untested and potentionally hugely powerful way to filter spam.
         Our test script did awesome. We want to bring it to scale and make a product out of it."

   Investors: "Hey, that sounds like a good idea."

   

   Team: "Nope,  is a dead-end. Here's the remainder of your seed money."
If they failed, then company failed before anyone ever invented in them. They failed when they decided to even try the idea out in the first place. The investors failed by backing a technology that wasn't going to work.

The product was a failure, but the team and business weren't necessarily failures. I can defintely see why a company would want to re-up. Both sides would have obviously preferred bringing cash in hand over fist, but I'd say that this outcome is far more positive than having a product that works and a business that fails.

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