Some Business Inspiration From the Most Successful Failures in Current Times!

The fact that failure exists in the world of business doesn’t need to be mentioned – we have all seen the failed efforts of many companies from a range of sectors, but have you looked closely at some of the world’s largest and most successful companies? They, too, sport their fair share of failure. In fact, we hazard to say that failure may even fuel your business if treated in the correct manner!

It would be incredibly difficult to find a successful entrepreneur who hasn’t stumbled along the way up the ladder of success. Several companies have been run to the ground, and CEOs have been fired from their positions or even ended up behind bars or being fined incredible amounts of money before they struck gold.

Evan Williams

Social media is everywhere. Among the few most popular is Twitter which was co-founded by Evan Williams who failed before he found success. Before the birth of Twitter, Williams had worked on a  podcasting platform which he called Odeo. As you probably know from the incredibly unfamiliar name, the platform never really took off. What played a role in the platform’s lack of momentum in the industry was that Apple announced a similar platform of their own shortly after Odeo’s launch. That left Odeo with no choice but to fold. However, had Evan thrown in the towel after his first try turned out to be a flop, he wouldn’t have struck gold the way he did with Twitter! If that doesn’t encourage you to persevere, then we don’t know what will!

Momofuku Ando

Imagine a world without that handy bag of instant noodles! Tragic, right? Well, the man behind the idea of the instant-noodle pack is Momofuku Ando, and it took a lot of effort on his part to get it right! Considering the effortless instant noodles preparation, the poor guy deserved to coin in big time for his hard work! Sadly, while he did successfully develop the recipe and he actually had a merchandising firm in Japan, he fell into deep waters in 1948. Ando was convicted by officials of tax evasion and ended up behind bars for two years. This led to a chain of financial troubles as he lost the company in Japan and also suffered bankruptcy. Just imagine the immense wealth and success he would have enjoyed had he followed the tax laws! This case just points out the importance of doing the right thing at all times.

Jeff Bezos

This is a man who certainly doesn’t need an introduction! Jeff Bezos is the CEO of the company that is a household name anywhere in the world – Amazon. His incredible story is one of the biggest success stories in our time. Bezos was a man full of ideas. Unfortunately, all of them failed, and there were many. One of his ideas was an online auctioning site which was rather notable. The store evolved into another brand that also failed in the end – zShops. Bezos repurposed his idea and eventually developed the masterpiece that is the Amazon Marketplace!

Lawrence Ellison

If you have ever considered dropping out of college in order to follow your passions, here’s a bit of inspiration for you! Meet Lawrence Ellison who decided to stop pursuing higher education in order to take on work as a programmer for eight years of his life before he took the plunge and founded a company. Which company? Oracle. He actually founded the company with his former boss, and the company initially didn’t make it as big as they were hoping. Oracle went through many struggles, and Ellison eventually went through the unfortunate situation of having to mortgage his house to keep the company afloat – but with plenty of faith, of course! Looking at what Oracle is today; it sure was worth every penny and every grey hair.

The next time you feel overwhelmed by the fear of failure — and there will be a next time — just bear these four incredible stories in mind and push through. Failure has certainly been a stepping stone for many successful entrepreneurs, and you will never know just how many failures you need to survive before you land the big pot. Just hang in there, and remember to learn something from each and every failure, no matter how small.