Ask HN: What happens to failed founders?

18 points

7 years ago

What happens, longer-term, to the founders that fail? There's many forms of failure, according to PG [1] it's simply a matter of "keep going, don't get demoralized", but from my limited perspective (I've never started a startup) it's more complicated than that, you can also literally run out of money (either personally, or as a company not getting more investment), or you can rationally decide to stop because the value proposition just isn't there in the market (noone needs it, or they need it but aren't willing to pay enough for it to sustain it). So, my conclusion is that startups sometimes fail for "good" reasons.

What happens to founders afterwards? Do they start another startup? Do they continue in a "job" (career)? Do they start from scratch or move immediately into a management position? Are investors willing to invest into failed founders? Are companies willing to hire them? Do they value experience (similarly to an MBA, or similarly to an employee, or not at all)? Maybe they get hired by VCs to either mentor other startups, or help decide if they're worth investing in?

The opportunity cost of starting a startup instead of continuing in your career can be significant (5+ years "lost"). I imagine Y Combinator and other accelerators/VCs have some relevant experience with their alumni to answer this question. Is there any data available, an article or similar?

[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/die.html

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