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.

Danny Gutmann

I’d been working in the supply chain industry: at transportation companies, freight forwarders, supply chain-tech start-ups and the like. If someone were to have looked at my resume they might have concluded that it had been a good career thus far, with more opportunities coming down the line. If you were to ask me, I may have admitted that for many years I’d been straddling a wall which divided my desire to be an entrepreneur on one side and my corporate career on the other. I’d tried my hand at all kinds of different ventures: reselling clothing and antiques from thrift stores, buying returned pallets of Costco b-stock merchandise – trying to repair items and sell them on various online marketplaces – including an order of 50 used vacuums of which only 4 or 5 I could get running again. Read more>>

Julia Buitrago

My journey, as told in La Metamorfosis de Julia, is a testament to resilience, transformation, and growth through adversity. Two of the most significant challenges you faced—losing 100 pounds and going through a divorce—were not just defeats but catalysts for your greatest victories. Read more>>

Acsah Pietersen

I first attempted to start my business when I was 17 years old. I went to a market called the Jesmond Dean Market In PMB.
I stayed up all week making scrunchies excited to sell them on Saturday.
I only had a small table, a chalk sign, a scrunchie stand and a kiddy chair, no gazebo.
And that day it rained. I made zero sales and couldn’t pay my stall fee and I have never felt like such a loser in my life. Read more>>