Did you know that more than 66% of female founders find failure hard to overcome, compared with 55% of male founders? We always hear success stories of entrepreneurs who have worked hard to reach the position at are at. And success stories are often celebrated but as we know “failure is a stepping stone to success.” A journey filled with success, innovation wealth, and failure. Many entrepreneurs face failures before success which are learning lessons for them. These unsuccessful entrepreneurs stories show the importance of resilience, learning from failure, and perseverance and mark the statement “Failure is not an end-point, but an amendment to suit your success.”
Why Entrepreneurs Fail?
More often than not, entrepreneurial ventures fail than succeed. Studies show that it is not uncommon for many start-ups to collapse in less than five years of existence. What are some of the reasons behind this? Here are some of the major reasons entrepreneurs give for their failure:
1. No Market Demand:
Start-ups are especially doomed to fail if their initial offerings, products, or services prove to be unwanted by potential customers. Many entrepreneurs chase after ideas that excite them and fail to check whether or not enough customers are willing to pay for them.
2. Inability to Handle Cash:
Cash or financial and accounting management is also an important aspect of business that many entrepreneurs do not successfully attend to. These could be due to running out of cash, impulsive cash transactions, or underestimating the cost of running a business.
3. Ineffective Leadership and Partnering Problems:
Poor leadership, poor teamwork, or hiring the wrong candidate could kill the business even before it starts to grow.
4. Failure to Adapt to Market Changes:
Thanks to ever-transforming technology, businesses should accept changes instead of sticking with their products. Failure to adjust to technological developments, consumer behaviors, or industry trends usually leads to one being left behind.
5. Lack of a Business Plan:
New young entrepreneurs start their business with passion and work hard towards it but fail because they do not have a clear plan for emerging in the sea of competition. The above-mentioned points will not suffice to achieve it. It must set goals, draw a mind map for the future, and certainly have a plan B if plan A does not fall on the right track.
10 Inspiring Stories of Unsuccessful Women Entrepreneurs Who Never Gave Up
Several women entrepreneurs know about failing before eventually making it big. Their stories of failures remind us of the importance of resilience and learning lessons from setbacks. Let’s review some of the most inspiring examples:
1. Arianna Huffington:
Arianna was rejected quite a bit before co-founding The Huffington Post. Thirty-six publishers rejected her second book as unfit for printing. Others branded the Huffington Post as a failure when it was started. But she persisted, and that ultimately turned it into one of the most influential digital media platforms.
2. Oprah Winfrey:
Oprah was fired from her first television job as a news anchor in Baltimore because her bosses felt she was unsuitable for television and showed too much emotion about the story. Still, she produced The Oprah Winfrey Show and ended up being one of the most powerful women in media.
3. Kathryn Minshew:
Kathryn had a previous venture named PYP (Pretty Young Professionals) before launching The Muse. Due to co-founders’ disagreements and legal issues, this business didn’t survive, and she lost access to her website overnight. However, she gave it a second shot and The Muse became a successful career platform.
4. Vera Wang:
Vera Wang wanted to be a figure skater, but she failed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team. Then she worked with Vogue but could not rise to editor-in-chief. At the age of 40, Wang founded her bridal wear business, which blossomed into a global fashion house.
5. Whitney Wolfe Herd:
Whitney Wolfe Herd had sued Tinder over workplace harassment and was facing public outcry for her eventual job separation. Instead of quitting the whole idea, she went ahead to found Bumble, changing the game in online dating.
6. Katrina Lake:
Katrina, a founding member of Stitch Fix, struggled to win her investors over while finding potential use for an AI fashion service. Most potential investors thought it wouldn’t go anywhere. She charged ahead and would take her company public in 2017, becoming the youngest female founder to achieve this.
7. Emily Weiss:
Before becoming a million-dollar beauty company, Glossier, Emily previously ran a beauty blog called Into The Gloss. It was not making money, and most investors were skeptical about the idea of direct-to-consumer beauty products. But she managed to find funding and build Glossier, though things turned sour later with layoffs and restructuring.
8. Sarah Riegelhuth co-founded Wealth Enhancers:
she began a financial service for millennials but suffered heavy initial losses. She pivoted and rebranded her company and became a successful businesswoman, mentor, and author as time wore on.
9. Ruth Fertal:
Ruth had no prior experience in the restaurant business, yet she mortgaged her house and bought a failing steakhouse; this would later become the world-renowned Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.
10. Dusti Arab:
He is a branding expert who faced several hurdles while building her business. It went through many pivots and hardships financially. Eventually, she found success in personal branding and business strategy and shared her story openly to inspire others.
Lessons from Entrepreneurial Failure
Each of these unsuccessful entrepreneurs stories of women teaches us valuable lessons about overcoming setbacks. Here are some key takeaways they took from their failure:
- Rejection is not failure; persistence leads to success.
- A setback can be a setup for something greater.
- The right team and legal protections are crucial for long-term success.
- If one path closes, pivot to another and create your success.
- Challenges can fuel innovation and lead to industry-changing ideas.
- Believe in your idea even when others don’t.
- Rejection is part of innovation—build a strong brand and keep going.
- Financial setbacks are learning growth opportunities.
- Taking risks and betting on yourself can lead to success.
- Your first idea doesn’t have to be your final success—keep evolving.
How to Turn Failure into Future Success?
Failing can be by and large discouraging, but it must not define the course an entrepreneur takes. If business owners are to turn failure into success, they must first analyze what went wrong, paying particular attention to mistakes made and gaps in strategy. This may come in the form of feedback and insight provided by mentors in the same field. Adjusting the business and networking with other professionals may lead to new opportunities. Most importantly, keeping positive and persistent ensures that every setback bears fruit, gradually building up toward any eventual success.
Conclusion
Since failure is inherent in an entrepreneur’s journey, it is not the last chapter of that journey. The stories of these unsuccessful women entrepreneurs show that the hurdles can be changed into avenues of growth and success. The great ones are those entrepreneurs who take failure personally as learning, accommodate the change, and persist amidst adversity. If you are just starting and meeting challenges along your entrepreneurial journey, know that failure is a step in the direction of success. Continue with your head high, learn, study, and never stop reaching for your dreams.
