Almost nobody succeeds with their first venture, and the founders who eventually do have usually built several things that went nowhere first. Mark Zuckerberg had been building software and small products since his early teens before the one that worked, and the pattern repeats across nearly every well-known founder.
The value in those earlier attempts is not inspiration. It is that each one taught something specific that the successful venture then relied on.
Earlier ventures are where the skills get built
A founder who has already built, launched and watched something fail knows how long things take, what breaks, and what users actually do rather than what they say. That knowledge cannot be acquired by reading and it is what makes the later attempt faster. The first venture is expensive tuition, and it is still tuition.
Judge an attempt by what it taught, not by whether it survived
A venture that failed while teaching you how to price, how to sell, or that a market you believed in does not exist has done real work. One that failed while teaching nothing, usually because it was never put in front of customers, has not. The distinction is worth applying honestly to your own history.
Expecting a first-time success is the harmful assumption
Founders who believe the first venture should work treat its failure as evidence about themselves rather than as a normal outcome, and many stop there. Changing that expectation in advance is the difference between an owner who tries again with better information and one who concludes they are not suited to it.
Fail at a scale you can survive
The practical version of this advice is to keep early attempts small enough that failure costs money you can lose and time you can spare. Business survival rates recorded in the enterprise data published by Statistics South Africa make the case plainly: attempts are common and survival is not, so the survivable attempt is the one that leaves you able to make another.
Ideas recur, and later conditions can make them work
Several of these early ventures were versions of things that later succeeded elsewhere, built before the technology, the market or the founder was ready. An idea that failed once is not disqualified permanently, and the honest question is whether what defeated it has since changed.
Frequently asked questions
Do most successful founders succeed first time?
Very few. Most have built several things that went nowhere, and each of those taught something the eventual success depended on.
What makes a failed venture worthwhile?
Whether it taught something specific about pricing, selling or the market. A venture never put in front of customers usually teaches nothing.
Why is expecting first-time success harmful?
Because it turns a normal outcome into evidence about yourself, and many owners stop after one attempt as a result.
How should early attempts be sized?
Small enough that failure costs money you can afford to lose and time you can spare, so you remain able to try again.
Can an idea that failed be worth revisiting?
Yes, if what defeated it has changed. Many early ventures failed on timing, technology or readiness rather than on the idea itself.
Further reading
Originally published in August 2017. Updated September 2026 to draw out what earlier failed ventures actually contribute rather than listing one founder’s history.
