Stop being afraid of failure and start embracing it.
FailCon is a one-day conference for technology entrepreneurs, investors, developers, and designers to study their own and others' failures and prepare for success.
We all have founded, worked for or invested in startups that have failed. We're smart, we keep up with the latest in technology trends, but sometimes things just don't go as planned. How can you predict what will work and what won't? Well, you can't.
But that doesn't mean you should stop trying. It just means you should start exchanging stories of what didn't work and how you pivoted, why you couldn't raise money, what the wrong hires were like, and when you decided it was time to let go. Entrepreneurs need to hear that from each other: it's okay to fail; it doesn't mean you're worthless. You're just like the rest of us, learning from making mistakes and building something bigger next time.
FailCon was started in San Francisco in 2009 as a response to events repeatedly highlighting only success, while providing so guidance or safe spaces for failure. Our first event launched with over 400 attendees, and we've continued to grow ever since. We hope you'll join us and add your unique story and experience to our own.
Failure is still a taboo topic all over the world, but we're working to change that one city at a time. If you're interested in hosting a FailCon in your city, email Cass.
Who Are The Producers?
Cass Phillipps, Global Producer
Cass has been a startup event producer for over seven years, producing and managing conferences like FailCon, SF MusicTech Summit, Inside Social Apps, Unleashed Conference, and many more. Recently, she began exploring what storytelling is on mobile at Episode Interactive! You can follow her on twitter @webwallflower
Heather McGough, San Francisco Advisor
Heather McGough is also the founder of Urbanity Events. Learn more about Heather and the San Francisco event at http://sf.thefailcon.com. You can also get in touch with Heather on twitter @urbanityevents
Benson Lau, Hong Kong Producer
Benson Lau is an ex-engineer, investor and entrepreneur having built global car communities reaching over 10 million people a week and now co-founder of an IT services company called Zencode, focusing on building mobile, data analytics and AI solutions for startups and Enterprise clients.
Sonya Madden, Hong Kong Associate Producer
Sonya Madden is an ex-Banker, Entrepreneur & Strategic-Advisor, who’s built or advised businesses across Asia, UK, and US. Her work’s been featured in the Wall Street Journal, FT, Vogue, and Business School text books.
Rafael Chanin, Brazil Producer
Rafael is a Professor at PUCRS and a Director at Nós Coworking. Learn more about Rafael and the Brazilian FailCon at http://brazil.thefailcon.com
Flavio Steffens de Castro, Brazil Producer
Flavio is also the founder of Woompa Learn more about Flavio and the Brazilian FailCon at http://brazil.thefailcon.com
Bat-chen Grinberg, Israel Producer
Bat-chen is the founder of Israel startup event production company MC Forum. Learn more about Bat-chen and the Israel FailCon at http://telaviv.thefailcon.com
Pedro Olivares, Spain Producer
Pedro is also the founder of Salto con Red. Learn more about Pedro and the Spanish FailCon at http://spain.thefailcon.com
Roxanne Varza, France Producer
Roxanne is also the Startup Lead at Microsoft France. Learn more about Roxanne and the French FailCon at http://france.thefailcon.com
Rentsendash Munkhzul, Mongolia Producer
Innovation strategist in National Information Technology Park of Mongolia. Learn more about Munkhzul and the Mongolian FailCon at http://mongolia.thefailcon.com
Laurent Carbonnaux, Toulouse Producer
Laurent is a member of startup innovation firm Ekito. Learn more about Laurent and the Toulouse FailCon at http://toulouse.thefailcon.com
Benjamin Böhle-Roitelet, Toulouse Producer
Benjamin is the founder of startup innovation firm Ekito and Blue Builder. Learn more about Benjamin and the Toulouse FailCon at http://toulouse.thefailcon.com
Guillaume Cerquant, Toulouse Producer
Guillaume is the member of startup innovation firm Ekito. Learn more about Guillaume and the Toulouse FailCon at http://toulouse.thefailcon.com
Eric Pierrel, Grenoble Producer
Eric is the CEO of Itris Automation, a PLC development company. Learn more about Eric and the Grenoble FailCon at http://grenoble.thefailcon.com
Amber Sanders, Atlanta Executive Producer
Amber is an event producer in Atlanta, working mostly for 100 Urban Entrepreneurs. Learn more about Amber and the Atlanta FailCon at http://atlanta.thefailcon.com
Blake Merriam, India Producer
Blake has been living in Mumbai for most of the last six years, originally arriving to work on an e-commerce project for a US firm. Learn more about Blake and the Indian FailCon at http://india.thefailcon.com