This post was written by Paulo Alves, Innovation Analyst at Beta-i and the Project Manager of the FIWARE Startup Weekend, happening on Nov 13 - 16. Paulo focuses on importance of learning from failures.
FuckUp Nights. This was the name given by 5 Mexican entrepreneurial souls that decided to raise a whole and new movement around failure. Yes, FAILURE…
Don’t laugh because what started as a hobby in September 2012 is nowadays present in more than 25 cities and 5 different countries across the sphere. The major entrepreneurial hubs like San Francisco, Boston, London and Paris are some of the few examples that already executed this idea and some of them are regularly counting with more than 100 attendees in each session.
But, what is a FuckUp Night? A FuckUp Night is a monthly event where entrepreneurs share their past and failed experiences while taking advantage from a relaxed and informal environment.
In each night from 3 to 4 entrepreneurs share their stories of failure, including:
- What was their project about?
- What did they do wrong?
- What did they learn?
- What would they do differently?
Then, at the end of each story, the audience asks questions. All accompanied by beer and good friends.
The whole point of it emerges from the reality that most individuals are afraid to share their failures. True is that our society created a culture where only success stories are allowed to teach us the path to follow. In fact, at Beta-I we believe that our society is fed up with simplistic and unrealistic stories of overnight success. We all know about the glorious days of Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft, and so on. But… why do most entrepreneurs keep repeating the same mistakes?
Check out the movie below and meet some of the co-founders of this movement as well as the book they have just printed out and released in the idea’s inception country - México:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owpq-Vma2ko&list=UUBezks7gvcrXCFxAPyHrzkA
Leave us a comment below. Additionally, let us know what do you think about this movement and if you would like Beta-I to sponsor this initiative in Lisbon! Do you share the ideal that this is a good opportunity to foster a more entrepreneurial and innovative culture in Portugal?
Stay in touch!