What If It Doesn't Work..?

My response to this question is usually, "...but what if it does?!"

I have sat across the table from a number of people while on this journey and been amazed that the question about success or failure is frankly always about the potential for failure.


Show me an entrepreneur that invests money, time, blood, sweat and tears into a venture with failure as their endgame? Which is not to say that an enterprise cannot fail, but I would argue that failure is an irrelevant descriptor. For me, there are simply levels of success.

First and foremost, a business startup is an educational experience. You will always walk away wiser, smarter, and better prepared for the next thing. Doesn't sound like a failure...

You will also walk away with a network of supporters and advisers, your business partners and possibly one or more investors. You will have constructed a business with infrastructure, both operational and technical. All of these are assets which can be re-used in your next venture. Still doesn't sound like failure.

Having established a solid foundation for the previous business, you have the ability to pivot, to exploit a spin-off or evolution of your previous idea or to deliver the next one on the list. Whatever you choose to do, the startup time for the next one will be shorter, and you will be smarter. Begins to sound more like success as the likely outcome. And this is what you take into the room every time - you sell yourself, your team, your perseverance and your passion for your business. Challenge anyone who posits failure as the most likely possibility.

It is rare that I have ever been confronted by a potential customer, commercial partner, or even investor that looks at the proposition and asks, "What if this succeeds, what if this goes according to or even close to plan?"

Getting them to ask that question should be your goal. You have to leave the people in the room feeling like they could end up being the guys who didn't sign The Beatles!