Ignoring Downturns Is Unhealthy And Dangerous(techcrunch.com)
techcrunch.com
Ignoring Downturns Is Unhealthy And Dangerous
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/22/ignoring-downturns-is-unhealthy-and-dangerous/
5 comments
The failure of startup companies is real news, but I wish there were more focus on the reasons behind the failure. Most coverage I read comes across as mockery, as to suggest that the concept or group could never have succeeded in the first place. Perhaps that is often the case, but it teaches others little. Real investigation into the failure would be both entertaining and edifying.
Real investigation into the failure would be both entertaining and edifying.
Sure, but as they say: Success has a thousand fathers, failure is a motherless child.
It's very hard to get a good, real-time post-mortem on a startup. One reason is that, oftentimes, failure is a big amorphous mess. If all the employees agreed on what the problem was, they might have been able to do something about it before it killed the company. :)
(By contrast, it's easy to explain a successful company's success: Just look at where the money is coming from.)
Moreover, it's in nobody's best interest to call attention to their own bad decisions, and it's even less wise to poke fun at the bad decisions of your coworkers, who may be a vital part of the personal network that will keep you alive after the startup explodes.
The entire point of this Techcrunch article is that doing post-mortem work on a startup is a thankless task. No matter what you say, you will be treated like an assassin. Look closely at your complaint:
Most coverage I read comes across as mockery, as to suggest that the concept or group could never have succeeded in the first place.
You call that "mockery", but isn't that the polite alternative? What else can the coverage say? That the concept was sound, but that the founders made a bunch of boneheaded mistakes in execution?
Sure, but as they say: Success has a thousand fathers, failure is a motherless child.
It's very hard to get a good, real-time post-mortem on a startup. One reason is that, oftentimes, failure is a big amorphous mess. If all the employees agreed on what the problem was, they might have been able to do something about it before it killed the company. :)
(By contrast, it's easy to explain a successful company's success: Just look at where the money is coming from.)
Moreover, it's in nobody's best interest to call attention to their own bad decisions, and it's even less wise to poke fun at the bad decisions of your coworkers, who may be a vital part of the personal network that will keep you alive after the startup explodes.
The entire point of this Techcrunch article is that doing post-mortem work on a startup is a thankless task. No matter what you say, you will be treated like an assassin. Look closely at your complaint:
Most coverage I read comes across as mockery, as to suggest that the concept or group could never have succeeded in the first place.
You call that "mockery", but isn't that the polite alternative? What else can the coverage say? That the concept was sound, but that the founders made a bunch of boneheaded mistakes in execution?
Distinguishing between concept and execution failures would be a huge start, actually. Don't you think that makes a big difference in your final evaluation of the company - particularly from a startup perspective? Absolutely fair point that it may be difficult to determine where the failure was - but you could start by interviewing the management and go from there. Isn't journalism about investigating things that aren't immediately obvious? Anyone can lampoon a company for failure.
If you think the investigation isn't worth it, either because it is thankless task or because the cause can't be determined (the founders won't admit to their mistakes, etc), then why write a story at all? It is just sensationalism. Publish a report every week with a list of startup failures. Other startups will get the idea - lots of startups fail - and they will have learned just as much as if they had read the types of stories that are being published now.
If you think the investigation isn't worth it, either because it is thankless task or because the cause can't be determined (the founders won't admit to their mistakes, etc), then why write a story at all? It is just sensationalism. Publish a report every week with a list of startup failures. Other startups will get the idea - lots of startups fail - and they will have learned just as much as if they had read the types of stories that are being published now.
Sounds like par for the course for Techcrunch.
It is still important that people know about it in some capacity, so I have to agree with the article. For every Facebook, there are a hundred failed startups, and not reporting these failures is just going to delude people.
It is still important that people know about it in some capacity, so I have to agree with the article. For every Facebook, there are a hundred failed startups, and not reporting these failures is just going to delude people.
Making sweeping generalizations from a few events is also unhealthy and dangerous.