Over the years, after talking with tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, artists and creatives, almost every success story we’ve heard has been filled with stories of failure. Unfortunately, in our view the media rarely covers these parts of the story – instead we often read summaries that make it seem like success happened “overnight.” However, what we’ve learned in our conversations with so many successful folks is that failure is core ingredient in the recipe for future success. Below, we’ve shared some fascinating stories of failure from folks who have ultimately found great success.

Mike Kitko

I am a Marine Veteran and a recovered Fortune 500 Executive Leader. After a long, successful run in corporate, in 2016 I was fired from my 2nd executive level position in 20 months. I was 300lbs, suicidal, and had a toxic relationship with alcohol. My home was full of physical, mental, and emotional abuse. There was nothing good in my life. Read more>>

Chef Kendric

In the past I’ve had several issues when I first started my business. Mainly with not being prepared and being understaffed at my events. The first event was a restaurant pop-up that I had in Charleston and it was a disaster from beginning to end. It wasn’t enough food, staffing, and knowledge to have that kind of event but it taught me so many valuable lessons!! Read more>>

Aniya Reed

In the beginning of my baking journey I started off as what they would call it a rookie. I didn’t know what I was doing exactly but just knew I really wanted to do it . I started off small doing all buttercream cakes & cupcakes , at a point I wanted transition into fondant not knowing it took a lot of practice . Read more>>

sanjay burman

Failure is the best lesson a person can have. I have a PHD in it. What is really amazing about failure, is that you gain the wisdom, but people forget about it the minute you have success. My failures in business and personally usually end up as a funny story I share in talks because it makes the other people feel comfortable about their own. Read more>>

Dr. Cherlisa Jackson

I was not great at standardized test scores though my GPA was excellent. On my ACT, I received an 18 out of 30 twice. On my GRE, I received an 800 out of 1600 3 separate times. I wasn’t interested in college, but my mother recommended attending anyway. Read more>>