It all started with a group of five friends drinking mezcal—a lot of it. Leti asked why everyone always talks about the Zuckerbergs and Gates of the world, but no one shares candid stories of failure.
With the courage provided by a few shots of mezcal, each of us shared our biggest failure, sparking a magical conversation that allowed us to get to know one another better and connect on an even deeper level. We decided to share this life-changing experience with more friends, and Fuckup Night 2012 we created the first Fuckup Night .
Fast forward a few years and
Fuckup, Inc. is:
- Fuckup Nights FUN): A global movement with events in more than 300 cities across more than 80 countries, spoken in more than 30 languages (and growing).
- Failure Institute: A think tank that works with governments, corporations, development agencies, and ecosystems around the world to transform our content into data that informs public policy and fosters economic development.
- FUN : A media platform experimenting with new formats to expand our reach.
We wanted to get drunk, and instead, we ended up wanting to help advance capitalism to a new stage of transparency through a global organization.
How did that happen? And… can we help make it happen for you and others?
Here is my attempt to answer those questions. At every step, we have tried to stay true to our principles while using these 10 values to guide our decisions.
The Fuckup Inc. Values
1. We take a stand:
In times of growing polarization and inequality, it’s important to choose the right side of history and speak out and take action. We’re working on getting better at this.
2. We act out of love:
For us, happiness is seeing acts of love. Meaning is performing acts of love. We create our initiatives with these ideas in mind.
3. We are humble, but we bow to no one:
We know we’re privileged and lucky. We feel honored to be part of Fuckup, and we do our best to make it more impactful. And no, we’re not going to change our name or the way we do things just to get your money or approval.
4. We strive to build trust:
By minimizing hierarchy and control over others, we strive to be happier, more efficient, and smarter than companies focused on maximizing profits for their shareholders.
5. We recognize our egos and try to overcome them:
This requires a significant, ongoing effort, but it has brought us to what feels like a new level of awareness that opens the door to personal fulfillment.
6. We make it personal:
There are too many gurus out there. Less preaching about failure (or success, or anything else for that matter) and more sharing personal stories with vulnerability and genuine wisdom.
7. We default to open:
If we’re not sure whether we should communicate or share something, we go ahead and do it—we err on the side of transparency. Sometimes it’s painful at first, but we see it as a good long-term investment.
8. We are hackers:
We don’t complain (okay… sometimes we do), we try to find solutions and share them with the world.
9. We facilitate by being servant leaders:
There are already too many megalomaniacal “leaders.” We don’t have all the right solutions, nor do we want to pretend that we do. Being facilitators for discussions and initiatives is more FUN.
10. We keep it simple:
As simple as possible. Except when we don’t… and end up screwing up just like everyone else.
Staying as true as possible to these values has allowed us to witness everything from people who share that they didn’t take their own lives thanks to Fuckup Nights, to Fuckuppers (local organizers) making a life and a living from FUN, to entire organizations and groups of people changing their cultures and mindsets for the better.
We hope these values and ideas help inspire you. If they don’t, you can always try some mezcal. Just be sure to invite us.
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