Startup failure post mortems: when nobody will talk.
If you truly can't find anyone, startup failure post mortems from CB Insights offer founder-written accounts. However, a real conversation near you is worth far more. Also, refusals, rosy stories and grim ones are all part of the exercise.
When you can't find anyone.
You probably do know someone, because people rarely announce a closure. So ask a relative, neighbour or colleague first. Knowing how to ask someone about their failure starts there. Only then turn to startup failure post mortems, the collection CB Insights published from founders.
When they refuse or warn you off.
If someone declines, say "No problem at all, thank you for considering it." For some people, a closure is still raw years later. Instead of pushing, ask someone else. If they tell you not to start, thank them, since one life's advice is evidence, not a verdict.
Using startup failure post mortems and stories wisely.
Failed startup stories may sound worse or rosier than you expected. Listen, and don't try to fix a hard story. Meanwhile, a rosy one may be true or smoothed by time. Either way, it is one memory, not a rule. If fear rises, that's allowed, because a real story can be planned around.
Choose your source among startup failure post mortems.
Ask a relative, a neighbour and a colleague tonight whether they know someone who closed a business.
Write a polite thank-you reply now, ready for anyone who declines.
From the book.
What if you don't know anyone who closed a business? You probably do, because people rarely announce it. Ask a relative, a neighbour or a colleague whether they know someone. If you truly can't find anyone, CB Insights has published a large collection of post-mortems written by the founders of failed startups, but a conversation with a real person near you is worth far more than any of them.
I Want to Start a Business but I'm a Coward, chapter 6: What happened to the people it happened to
Questions about startup failure post mortems.
Are startup failure post mortems as good as a conversation?
No. They help if you can't find anyone, but a real person near you is worth far more.
What if their story scares you?
You're allowed to feel that. It doesn't mean the exercise failed.
What if they say not to start?
Thank them for their honesty. Their advice is valuable evidence from one life, not a verdict on yours.
Read the whole chapter.
This lesson covers one section of chapter 6, “What happened to the people it happened to”. The book goes further, with the full evidence, the stories and every exercise.
Lessons in this chapter.
- 01 Worst case scenario business failure: the real shape.
- 02 Earnings after failed startup: what records show.
- 03 Hidden costs of startup failure: what it cost me.
- 04 Starting again after a failed business: two stories.
- 05 Grief after business failure: the harder evidence.
- 06 Talk to someone who closed a business: the interview.
- 07 Startup failure post mortems: when nobody will talk.