Failure comes with a certain stigma and fear, particularly among entrepreneurs. It should not be this way, for to fail is to learn.
I am proud to be an instigator behind the rebirth of FailCampMTL, an event celebrating failure in all its glory. Gabrielle Madé, Francis Gosselin and I hustled hard to rekindle an event last held by Fred Harper in 2011. Surprisingly, the event did not live up to its name and succeeded beyond our expectations. Over one hundred and sixty attendees registered in 7 minutes from ticket availability. #failcampmtl became trending on twitter across the country. FailCampMTL appeared in most major news and media outlets in Montreal.
FailCampMTL is about sharing your tales of epic fail and the lessons you learned from them. Not viewing failure as defeat is a key stepping stone to success. Ignoring fear, embracing risk and thinking big - granted are clichés - truly help you achieve what you thought you couldn’t.
LP Maurice and JS Cournoyer talked about startup fails. Cynthia Savard Saucier graced us with a history of design and web fails. Claude Théorêt lectured about failures in physics and science. Marc Gagne discussed what causes personal fails in startups. Mélanie Joly talked about her failures in politics and public life.
After the success of the 2013 edition, we are considering a repeat in 2014. Please reach out to me on Twitter with any ideas or suggestions.
Visit http://failcampmtl.org/ for more information. See Eva Blue’s Photo Set on Flickr for beautiful photos.
Media:
- Les Affaires by Julien Brault: Vous ne croirez pas comment l’ange montréalais Austin Hill a fait son premier 75 000$
- Le Journal de Montreal by Joanie Godin (Paywall): Célébrer les échecs au FailCamp MTL
- Ici Radio-Canada: #FailCamp : célébrer l’échec
- BetaKit by Joseph Czikk: “A STRAIGHT OUT SCAM”: MONTREAL ANGEL AUSTIN HILL RECOUNTS FIRST BUSINESS AT FAILCAMPMTL
- BetaKit by Joseph Czikk: THIS WEEKEND’S FAILCAMP IN MONTREAL SOLD OUT IN SEVEN MINUTES
- cllbr by Francis Gosselin: Failure is always an option
- TechVibes by Roger Huang: Busy Weekend in Montreal Sees Three Events Spurring Startup Community
- Geeks and Com’ by Benoit Chamontin: Une deuxième édition le 22 février prochain #failcampmtl
- BaronMag by Camille Lauwers: Fail Camp MTL : tous unis dans l’échec
- WinkStrategies: LEARN FROM YOUR FAILURE, THEN LAUGH ABOUT THEM #FAILCAMPMTL
- DES MONTRÉALITÉS by Karine St-Germain Blais: Célébrer l’échec : première édition du FailcampMTL
- Medium by Austin Hill: On your permanent record
- Nexalogy Blog by Craig Silverman: Nexalogy CEO Claude Théoret’s transition from studying black holes to analyzing social data
- BusBud Blog: FailCamp MTL, le 22 février chez Busbud