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6 Lessons for Startups from a Museum Dedicated to Failure

Lessons

A collection of more than 1,000 failed products and businesses reveals the common forces that spell doom for new ventures.

January 31, 2025

Richard Morrell/Getty Images



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    • Recent data shows that U.S. startup failures have increased by 60% in the past year. And every failed product or company carries a price: wasted resources, lost jobs, tarnished reputations. To understand more about risk-taking and failure, Sean Jacobsohn has catalogued more than 1,000 failed products and businesses in a collection he calls the Failure Museum. He has identified six warning signs of failure, and offers lessons to ensure entrepreneurs learn from these mistakes.

    Founders work hard to build their startups. Venture capitalists work hard to identify and invest in the most promising ones. But the harsh reality is that failure is inevitable. Recent data shows that U.S. startup failures have increased by 60% in the past year.

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    • Sean Jacobsohn is a partner at venture and growth equity investment firm Norwest Venture Partners, where he focuses on early to late-stage investment opportunities in enterprise cloud. As the founder, chief historian, and collector of the Failure Museum, he collects artifacts from failed companies and products and catalogues his learnings from them. Sean also founded the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels, the largest university-affiliated angel investment group in the world.



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    • New!


    HBR Learning

    Business Case Development Course

    Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Business Case Development. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.

    Make your next business case more compelling.

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