Founder Fails: Stories of Startup Stumbles

Founder Fails is a new book from founder, CEO, cybersecurity expert, and author Andrew Plato. This book will document the failures, lessons learned, and subsequent successes accomplished founders have experience on their entrepreneurial journey.

THIS BOOK IS CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION

Premise

Founder Fails explores how failure is a normal part of building a startup. The goal is to demonstrate that:

Failure is an opportunity to grow, learn, and improve.
Failure can spark necessary changes in a startup (including a pivot to a new type of company.)
It is okay to fail. It builds character, strength, resilience, and experience – all of which are vital to being a successful founder.

Who Can Contribute?

I am looking for founders and co-founders who:

Are currently or previously built a successful startup.
Willing to speak candidly about a previous failure that helped define you and/or your startup.
Able to discuss how this failure made you a better leader and/or person.
Are legally allowed to publicly share information about the failure. I can anonymize people, technologies, or confidential details. However, your name will be associated with the book and story. Do not share any confidential information.

What Should I Talk About?

A time when you made a mistake, error, or misjudgment.

Some examples:

Product feature(s) you insisted on building, that did not work.
An executive you recruited, who turned out to be a bad hire.
A project that went south, due to your own bad decisions.
Technology decision you made that turned out to be a bad choice.
Business decision you made that ultimately hurt the company.
Investor you took money from that you regretted (these are always juicy stories!)

Your stories should focus on professional or business failures. Of course, you can include personal failures, like a bad marriage or poor life choice, as long as the overall story is about building a startup.

Sample Interview Questions

Here are some of the questions Andrew Plato will ask during the interview:

Tell me about a time you failed? What happened? What caused to the failure?
Who was involved with this failure?
What was the mistake, misjudgment, or misunderstanding you made?
What was the impact of this failure on you?
- On the company?
- On your employees?
- On your family?
Was this failure unavoidable?
What was the turning point or catalyst when you realized it was a failure?
How did you react to this failure?
What lessons did you learn from this failure?
How long did it take you to learn these lessons? Did you repeat the failure?
Imagine you can go back in time 10 or 20 years, what advice would you give your younger self?
Now, imagine your older self, 10 or 20 years from today just showed up in a time machine. What advice do you think your older self wants to give you now?

Why Should Your Story of Failure Be In This Book?

To show the world how you became the great leader you are today.

I believe failure is a normal, natural part of building anything – especially a startup. I also believe that to be an effective founder, you must not only learn from your failures but share those lessons openly. Sharing stories of failure demonstrates humility and willingness to learn. It also encourages others to embrace a growth mindset (as popularized from the book Mindset from Carol Dweck, PhD).

Your story will help other founders, as well as demonstrate your authenticity as a leader.

As author, I will edit the content for brevity, clarity, and flow. However, I intend to tell your story as you want it expressed. Your story will start with a brief biography of your accomplishments. It will then transition into an interview style exchange. For the most part, I will use your words. I may edit your words slightly to make the content more readable.

Contributors will have an opportunity to review, edit, and approve content before it is published.