A note on what we’re not

With " Fuckup Nights " taking place in over 300 cities around the world

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With " Fuckup Nights " taking place in over 300 cities around the world, the event can mean many different things to many different people. Everyone has their own reason for attending or speaking at an event, which means that " Fuckup Nights " can potentially represent something completely unique to each person.

And while we’ll be the first to tell you what we’re all about—whether through our local chapters around the world, our private events, or even our newsletter—we’ve never really talked about what we’re not.

We’ve always strived to be transparent in everything we do, and we’d like that to extend to who we are. So, to set the record straight, we’ve decided to talk about a few things that aren’t part of who we are:

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We don’t just tell stories about startups

People tend to think we only focus on startups and entrepreneurs, but that’s not the case. At Fuckup Nights, we welcome stories of any kind of business or professional failure —from artists to soccer players, to bankers and restaurant owners.

We've had amazing speakers from a wide range of industries and backgrounds—and that's what makes Fuckup Nights so great.

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We’re not experts on failure.

We’ve built a great movement, we’ve gotten a lot of great press, but we’re not the “failure gurus.” Failure (and the circumstances surrounding it) can be an incredibly personal and niche topic. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution —there are simply no silver bullets for these kinds of situations.

However, we’re constantly learning from all the great stories we have the chance to document, as well as the valuable lessons we identify at the companies where we host private events. All with the goal of breaking the paradigms that hold us back.

We don’t believe that“failure” is the only path to“success”

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You don’t have to “fail” to be “successful.” So we’re not telling you to fail or you’ll never succeed. Some people will achieve success without making a single mistake. As we’ve said before, there are just so many variables in a person’s life and personality that there isn’t just one path.

“Anyone can do anything; it just takes some people more effort than others.”

– Jason Connell’s Mom

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And even before determining which comes first, we believe that the concepts of failure and success can vary depending on each individual—their expectations, their culture, the society they live in, or even their past experiences.

Have you ever wondered what success and failure mean to the person next to you?

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There are different levels of meaning

There will be times when you’ll learn EVERYTHING from a screw-up, but there will be times when you won’t learn much at all. Sometimes you fail for no reason at all, and sometimes there’s nothing you could have done differently.

A student who fails a test can learn a lesson just as meaningful as an entrepreneur who fails at launching a startup; as we’ve said, it’s all about context. Most of the time, meaningful lessons come after some time has passed and after taking a moment to reflect.

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We don’t celebrate failure; we celebrate resilience.

This is probably the most important point. Sometimes what we do gets misunderstood, and people think we’re celebrating failure itself—or even worse, that we worship it. If that’s how you feel, then we’re about to blow your mind:

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We don’t glorify failure, and we don’t want you to fail.

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When we engage in “ Fuckup Nights ,” we’re trying to understand the failure, see what we can learn from it, and ultimately celebrate the resilience of the people who have failed and lived to tell the tale.

Phew, that’s a huge weight off our shoulders.

Now that you know what we are—and what we’re not—why not listen to some stories about failure at your nearest " fuckup nights " event, or encourage your boss orteam members to share their own stories at your company?

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#ShareTheFailure