Failing Smart

I recently read an article about innovation, comparing the startup ecosystem in Silicon Valley with that of other ecosystems.

This got me to delve deeper into the ecosystem setup of Silicon Valley and the holy grail of success that it currently boasts, and the one thing that repetitively kept coming up, was the ecosystems encouragement of failure. Where failing is not a stigma but a credential.

The more your business model is proven wrong during the startup phase, the more innovative you will get at creating a market for it rather than just entering one.

Now don't get me wrong, although Silicon Valley supports startups that fail, however the trick is to fail fast and get back in the game, with better product and/or service.

I loved that notion, especially for us in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region. Where we literally are paralyzed by the notion and fear of failure.

What we desperately need, in order to encourage innovation and cultivate entrepreneurship, are safe havens that allow entrepreneurs to "Fail Fast & Fail Smart".