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Show HN: People should show off failures as much as wins

6 points by buf ↗ HN
I think it's important to show off your failures as much as your victories.

I started my career in 2007 and I've worked extensively on 14 projects in 15 years. Only 4 of those turned into meaningful ventures for me.

Projects:

- (1) IPO

- (1) founding engineer of a 9 figure biz

- (2) founder of 7 figure biz

- (10) failures

I put together a one-pager that I think helps put in perspective just how long successes take.

https://siliconvict.com/projects

6 comments

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galfarragem
We all know that showing off your failures only works AFTER achieving success. If you do it before, it will be used against you - every time.
buf
Can't argue with that logic. But presenting failures is better than not having any information at all, I'd argue.

By showing any work at all, people can give feedback.

yesenadam
Submitting this as a Show HN was I think a small 'failure'[0] :-) but I had a look at the page, and the extant sites. I'd love to read an account of your last 15 years. Sounds exhausting!

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/showhn.html

buf
Thanks! Yes, it was definitely exhausting, but I think life is lived in phases, so I always take periods of rest when I need it.

Out of curiosity, what would you have submitted this post as? Tell HN?

yesenadam
Good question!... Uh maybe if you put the text at the top of this page at the top of your linked projects page?, just a bit of explanation, that would make a great normal HN submission. Or - I'm not really a fan of Tell HNs (maybe because I like Ask HNs so much), but I guess it would work as that. They rarely seem to get much attention though.

p.s. Have you written about all those experiences somewhere online? I'd love if each of those businesses had a link to a page or paragraph or chapter about the experience. Huge job I guess.