Fear of failure is a major drag on European entrepreneurs who conceive failure as a negative and often hushed-up shame. It prevents many potential entrepreneurs from starting up and it poses a burden on those who take the leap of faith. Moreover, it also produces a brain drain to other countries like the US, where both risk and failure are accepted and even encouraged. “Fail often, fail fast” has become an emblem in Silicon Valley, where failures are seen as the quickest and most effective way to learn and improve.
Given the challenge that unemployment poses to Europe and that entrepreneurship is a key element for the creation of jobs and the economies’ development, it is necessary to boost it by working through key aspects such as risk aversion, resilience and the concept of failure. In order to do this, the European Commission launched FACE (Failure Aversion Change in Europe) Entrepreneurship.
This campaign, led by the Spanish communication group Grupo Secuoya, promotes entrepreneurship by tackling the emotional side of starting up and sharing the stories of successful founders that also had fears and failures along their journeys.
The only way to overcome fear of failure is to understand it and discern the main anxieties behind it. FACE Entrepreneurship carried out a Delphi study to identify the main worries that entrepreneurs face when founding a business, concluding that the most common ones can be grouped in the categories of financial fears, career-related fears, social fears and self-perception fears.
It is a fact that venture capital investments are greater in the US than in Europe.
However, entrepreneurs need to understand that the initial investment is not the main issue when starting up a business.
Whether you decide to bootstrap, invest your savings or borrow money, the ultimate goal must be selling your product or service and getting clients rather than investments. Taking controlled risks in this sense and establishing certain limits is essential and can reduce greatly the anxieties related to money.
Entrepreneurs need to understand that the initial investment is not the main issue when starting up a business
Many potential founders also fear quitting their job to embark on the entrepreneurial adventure. While moonlighting in the initial stages can be an option, it also takes a lot of energy and it is not advised in the long run. Before taking the decision of a career change, it is important to see whether there is a niche for your idea, talk to potential customers and try to validate it as soon as possible. Even if you fail, everything you learn is worth it by itself and it will make you more attractive to employers. But, once again, taking controlled risks is always a better option than a leap into the void.
The third most common fear entrepreneurs face is the lack of social support and the fear of others mocking them and their ideas. Many successful entrepreneurs had to struggle with their family’s opposition and they recognise it was not an easy task to deal with.
To minimise this fear, it is important to explain to your loved ones how important this is for you. Entrepreneurship is not only a job but a lifestyle and, ultimately, it is you who needs to take the decision and assume the results.
The fear of lacking enough skills, contacts and knowledge is another scourge that young founders need to confront.
As an individual, it is necessary to understand that, even if you learn along the journey, you will never know everything or be proficient in all fields.
Hence, getting onboard people that fill your gaps is decisive for the success of a start-up.
Fear can be a good thing, a motivator to keep your eyes on the price and maintain you with a goal-driven attitude, but don’t let it stop you.
Failure is painful, it hurts when it happens and you should do everything you can to not fail.
But you also need to understand that it is part of the game and, if you take controlled risks, learn from every mistake and stay honest with your team and with yourself, there is no shame in not succeeding to achieve the goal you yourself set.
Ana Martínez is the international press officer for Grupo Secuoya.