PopTech2010: Why Failure Is Vital

by Nathaniel Whittemore · 2010-03-25 08:24:00 UTC
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Renowned global thought and action network PopTech has just released the theme of their annual October gathering in Camden, Maine: Brilliant Accidents, Necessary Failures and Improbable Breakthroughs. It's an important set of topics, and a great chance to remind ourselves why failure is vital.

A few nights ago, I was sitting at a dinner where I was sharing my college experience and post-graduate entrepreneurial pursuits with a group of current Stanford undergrads. The conversation was a lot less about the mechanics of starting things and more about the feelings associated with them.

One of the most interesting points in the conversation was when one of the students asked, "If everything goes belly up, do you have a plan B?" My immediate and unqualified answer was: "Nope."

The interesting thing is that -- as much as that answer reflects a particular personality style (and it does) -- it is also a reality enabled by the particular attitude of the web tech industry. I told the student that if I failed this go-around, it would honestly probably increase my ability to get funding again the next time, because instead of seeing a green web entrepreneur, venture investors would see someone who had been in the pit and learned what makes and breaks a new company. While not every industry can or should tolerate failure to the degree that the startup world does, there are certainly many -- education, for example --  that should embrace the connection between failure, learning and future success.

From their announcement, it looks like PopTech is taking an even more expansive view of failure, and directly taking on the question of who and what gets "destroyed" when "Creative Destruction" builds new economies. That is a conversation that will only grow in importance as the tectonic plates of industry move like never before, taking with it the 20th-century notion of a "career."

The conversation will also hone in on the "Heretic's Path," or the often circuitous and winding route by which new, disruptive thinkers and ideas move from the fringe to the margins to the mainstream. From an entrepreneur's standpoint, this is a question that is way more than just theoretical.

Overall, the program is already shaping up to be a unique three days. To apply for an invitation to the conference, or to learn more about the PopTech network and its work, visit PopTech.org

Photo credit: Pop!Tech

Nathaniel Whittemore is the founder of Assetmap. Previously he was the founding director of the Northwestern University Center for Global Engagement.
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