In Silicon Valley, there's an "F word" that entrepreneurs say in polite company all the time: failure.
For every high-tech business success, there are countless failures in this California cradle of Internet startups. Here failure is accepted, or even welcomed, as a guide for future success.
In fact, failure is dissected in San Francisco at FailCon, an annual one-day conference where tech entrepreneurs and investors spill their guts and share lessons learned.
All Things Considered's Melissa Block spoke with some of Silicon Valley's tech entrepreneurs and investors about their experiences of failure in a place known for its multibillion-dollar successes.
"In the startup world, 'not working' is normal ... You might wonder why ships have [bilge] pumps [to remove water from below the deck] ... Why don't they just make one that's waterproof, right? And the fact is, one way or another, all ships take on water ... and one way or another, practically all startups internally are disasters. And they just hide this from the outside world."
"The worst moment is when you have to tell your staff. You have these people who, beyond reason, have put their trust in you. And you have to look them in the eye and say, 'I'm sorry, this isn't going to work.' It's always when the money's running out ... because you keep going until the money runs out. At the end, it's just you and one or two other people, filing papers with the state and packing up the boxes. And that is not fun."
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