Failure is Good

I've been building tech startups for 25 years, first in Mexico (#2 ISP, first e-peso platform, first multi-channel HD TV system) and for last 10 years in SF (Uphold, Airtm, Cadoo, Slyk). I've never met my goals for success. I've always failed. But I always learn. I want to tell all you indie hackers, startup founders, techno-optimist folks something important: if you're not failing, you're not really trying. There's a great poem by Robert Browning that has a line that captures this idea: "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" Man, woman, everyone-- reach higher, strive harder, hack always, and never give up. Experiment, learn, iterate. Another great quote is from Samuel Becket (there is a big overlap in writers of the last century trying to craft prose that people loved and hackers of this century trying to build products people love.) "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better." You don't have to read the poems in full to be inspired by those snippets. Keep going!