Any entrepreneur launching a business will inevitably make several mistakes, which is a natural part of the startup journey. However, some founders intentionally sabotage themselves by becoming overly cautious and avoiding the risks necessary to advance their service or product. Their behavior is understandable considering the financial and reputational ramifications at stake with poor planning. Ironically, this approach to “not fail” is creating the opposite effect because the only way a product or service can evolve is by testing it to get customer feedback. While thoughts about being irresponsible or avoiding the ramifications of financial mismanagement are valid, the incentive to fail can yield significant benefits.
Naturally, business owners make assumptions based on data that may or may not reflect the true habits of an intended market. Coca-Cola is a well-known brand across the world. When they expanded to Africa, they sold their standard-sized bottles and sales stagnated. Confused about why they weren’t seeing the results they were used to; they started visiting local towns and cities. They learned that their standard sizes were not consumed like in other markets. Merchants would reduce the bottles into smaller cans, which also made the beverage affordable.
Coca-Cola met the demand by introducing a smaller can and price point, allowing more people to buy the product directly. This shift not only boosted sales but also demonstrated the importance of understanding and adapting to local market behaviors to succeed. Instead of leaving the market, they sought out consumer feedback and relaunched. Had they first conducted research and testing, they could have avoided dismal sales in the beginning. Failing fast and quickly has its benefits such as providing advantageous information about how people will engage and use your service or product.
Science is the biggest purveyor of this practice. It is called the Scientific Method, and it is a process that examines incidents by looking at data, making observations, and asking questions to form a hypothesis. A scientist may make a hypothesis or an educated guess and use experiments to test if their theory is right or wrong. If the process doesn’t deliver the result expected, the experiment will be adjusted until it does. The likelihood is that after several attempts, the experiment, or in this case, the service or product, will yield the desired outcome. Coca-Cola hypothesized that their standard-size bottle would sell in Africa. When it did not, they collected information that explained why their theory didn’t work. With that evidence, they adjusted their product to meet the demand of their audience, and it sold.
Science has used this method for centuries. Some researchers point to Aristotle and other Greek philosophers as the developers, while others trace its origins to the mid-1500s. While its roots remain unclear, the idea that "testing and learning" can be beneficial remains. Had it not been for experimentation, we would not have the light bulb, which took Thomas Edison over 1000 attempts, the bagless vacuum, which took Sir James Dyson over 5,000 design attempts before getting it right, or Wheaties Cereal, which came about after 36 attempts. It should be encouraging that these inventors used each challenge to learn and utilize data and feedback to improve their products.
If you engage your customers early with soft launches of your product or service, you can then gain unique insight into how they utilize it. If it is a success and the feedback is positive, congratulations! If it is a failure, wonderful, because you didn’t lose as much money or time if launched fully. You can pivot and adjust your business to meet the needs of your customers or to find the customers who want what you are selling.
For several years, General Electric employed a “Fail Fast” strategy to rapidly test new ideas. It enabled them to witness early failures and iterate to develop successful products and services. They would also consider what weaknesses companies would target to fortify their products and services. It’s how General Electric solidified its place as a behemoth of industry and avoided the stark statistics facing most businesses. According to 2024 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20.4% of businesses fail in their first year after opening, 49.4% fail in their first five years, and 65.3% fail in their first 10 years. It may feel like an oxymoron to fail for success, but delaying the chance to test your products like this can mean the postponement of your success. Each experience will help you grow and build momentum that will get you closer to your dream.
To shake the anxiety of failing and ensure that it does not repeat itself, you should keep track of your failures with the below list. By learning from each step, you will get closer to a fail-proof plan to succeed. Download our Fail Fast list below to create your fail-proof plan now.
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