Before Babylist, Natalie Gordon built a language app that only ever made $40. She reframed this not as a startup failure, but as a crucial project that filled her skill gaps and taught her how to build a full-stack application from scratch, conquering her imposter syndrome.

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Early ventures that failed weren't seen as setbacks but as low-cost learning opportunities. This perspective, framed by his grandfather's high-risk business, eliminated fear and built foundational skills with minimal downside, making eventual success more likely.

When evaluating senior candidates, don't view a failed entrepreneurial venture as a negative. It often indicates valuable traits like risk-tolerance, scrappiness, and resilience. These leaders have learned hard lessons on someone else's dime, making them potentially more effective in a new organization.

Seemingly costly failures provide the unique stories, data, and scars necessary to teach from experience. This authentic foundation is what allows an audience to trust your guidance, turning past losses into future credibility.

Entrepreneurs often view early mistakes as regrettable detours to be avoided. The proper framing is to see them as necessary, unskippable steps in development. Every fumble, pivot, and moment of uncertainty is essential preparation for what's next, transforming regret into an appreciation for the journey itself.

Aspiring founders often stall while waiting for a perfect idea. The most effective strategy is to simply pick a decent idea and build it. Each project, even a 'losing' one, provides crucial learnings that bring you closer to your eventual successful venture.

Harris Kenny's growing SaaS, OutboundSync, is his seventh venture in nearly seven years, following what he calls a failed consultancy, a failed agency, and four failed SaaS ideas. This reframes past ventures not as failures but as necessary iterations on the long journey to finding product-market fit.

An early product failure can be a catalyst for growth. Porterfield's first course flopped, teaching her to only teach from direct results. This pivot led to a more authentic product, which attracted a key partnership with Lewis Howes that generated over a million dollars in revenue.

When you build a tool to solve your own problem, the worst-case scenario is that you have a custom solution that improves your life or work. This makes every project a success on some level, reframing the concept of failure and encouraging action.

The motivation to start a company wasn't about a guaranteed outcome but about embracing the ultimate test of one's capabilities. The realization that most founders, regardless of experience, are figuring it out as they go is empowering. It reframes the founder journey from a path for experts to a challenge for the determined.

Finding entrepreneurial success often requires a decade-long period of trial and error. This phase of launching seemingly "dumb" or failed projects is not a sign of incompetence but a necessary learning curve to develop skills, judgment, and self-awareness. The key is to keep learning and taking shots.

A 'Failed' Startup Can Be a Necessary Skill-Building Project | RiffOn