5 ms·

A failed entrepreneur

116 points by derekc 16y ago

enjo 16y ago
Well that's going on my wall.
jonpaul 16y ago
It's a very moving story. It's well worth the read.
d_c 16y ago
Very well written, a thank you to the author (and his father!)
tjmaxal 16y ago
for every success in life there are always a long list of glorious failures that precede it.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
mrvir 16y ago
Seems like he was quite a champ. Far more precious if you can teach your kids to think for themselves and use their wings, than leave them a multi-million dollar company, me thinks.
gizmo 16y ago
I wouldn't say the father failed at all. Nothing lasts forever and companies are no exception. Growing and leading a company for 20 years is a huge accomplishment, no matter what happens after that. Companies are not meant to last forever. We've had companies since the middle ages, and none of them exist now. Surely they're not all failed companies whose leaders all failed them? Besides, there's no way bankruptcy wipes away all the value that has been created. If a company can support three dozen families over 20 years (figures from the story) that's a tremendous amount of value. The few million dollar the company was worth before it went bankrupt pales in comparison. I understand why the father in the story would blame himself, it's only natural. It's a very human thing to second guess and blame yourself. My point is that people always find a way to blame themselves so I don't think somebody who successfully leads a business for 19 years is any more of a failed entrepreneur than a writer who writes bestsellers for 19 years or professor who does research and manages his group for 19 years or an actor who has 19 years worth of television and movies to his name. Failed? Pheh.
- erikpukinskis 16y ago
  > We've had companies since the middle ages, and none of them exist now. I totally agree, but it's not strictly true that none of them exist anymore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoshi_Ryokan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoshi_Ryokan
  - clutchski 16y ago
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies

116 points by derekc 16y ago

enjo 16y ago

Well that's going on my wall.

jonpaul 16y ago

It's a very moving story. It's well worth the read.

d_c 16y ago

Very well written, a thank you to the author (and his father!)

tjmaxal 16y ago

for every success in life there are always a long list of glorious failures that precede it.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

mrvir 16y ago

Seems like he was quite a champ. Far more precious if you can teach your kids to think for themselves and use their wings, than leave them a multi-million dollar company, me thinks.

gizmo 16y ago

I wouldn't say the father failed at all. Nothing lasts forever and companies are no exception. Growing and leading a company for 20 years is a huge accomplishment, no matter what happens after that. Companies are not meant to last forever. We've had companies since the middle ages, and none of them exist now. Surely they're not all failed companies whose leaders all failed them? Besides, there's no way bankruptcy wipes away all the value that has been created. If a company can support three dozen families over 20 years (figures from the story) that's a tremendous amount of value. The few million dollar the company was worth before it went bankrupt pales in comparison. I understand why the father in the story would blame himself, it's only natural. It's a very human thing to second guess and blame yourself. My point is that people always find a way to blame themselves so I don't think somebody who successfully leads a business for 19 years is any more of a failed entrepreneur than a writer who writes bestsellers for 19 years or professor who does research and manages his group for 19 years or an actor who has 19 years worth of television and movies to his name. Failed? Pheh.

erikpukinskis 16y ago
> We've had companies since the middle ages, and none of them exist now. I totally agree, but it's not strictly true that none of them exist anymore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoshi_Ryokan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoshi_Ryokan
- clutchski 16y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_companies