Traditional education and training programs from universities, incubators, and government programs attempt to fill vital startup knowledge and socialization gaps. Our offerings are often selected based on what we as the experts feel are the most vital topics for members in our startup networks. However, these topics can sometimes devolve into the same tired greatest hits list – startup basics, patents, financing, marketing, and teams – repeated annually.

Can open online entrepreneurial communities improve formal training topic selection?

I think so.

Three researchers at business schools in Norway and Germany recently published a study analyzing topics discussed on the Reddit community r/startups. This community has over 1 million users and recent (September 15, 2022) threads include such topics as:

• “How do you deal with cofounders that don’t stay in their lanes?”
• “Startup is closing down – how did you tell friends and family without feeling terrible?”
• “Need help transitioning from a software engineer role to a cofounder role.”
• “Static Growth…how do I add more value?”
• “Collaboration with influencers.”

The researchers analyzed the nature of the top 100 threads in r/startups over 2018 to 2019. They found 38 of these threads were seeking advice on startup strategy (18), personal development (12), and navigating interpersonal conflict (8). Twenty threads related to sharing lessons learned based on entrepreneurial experiences – good and bad. Another 20 focused on personal reflection and sharing the emotional rollercoaster journey of navigating a startup lifestyle. Eleven threads targeted sharing helpful resources or practical how-to information. Conversations these threads included a mix of emotional support, practical advice, and motivational pitches.

Want to explore more entrepreneurial communities online? Check out these popular subreddits!

The Takeaway

Entrepreneur support programs can make better use of social platforms such as r/startups. While startups in formalized programs can greatly benefit from in-person networking, mentorship, and training opportunities, many entrepreneurs – particularly disadvantaged entrepreneurs – lack ready access to these networks. Online networks can supplement traditional education and training programs from universities, incubators, and government programs.

We can also use these discussions to generate better topic ideas for our training events. Instead of pushing out one more workshop on “What is Intellectual Property?” consider browsing the conversions on r/startups or other groups to identify more creative alternatives!

Here are 13 personal favorites from the top-100 threads mentioned in the study report.

1. What are some habits of highly Unsuccessful founders? (Anti-Patterns)
2. Teach us a lesson. Share your failed business stories
3. How LinkedIn Got Their First Users?
4. I hate talking to customers. Any tips to get over it?
5. How do I put my failed startup on my resume?
6. The Five Biggest Things I’ve Learned From Building A Startup
7. The team you start with is not the one you scale with
8. Most startups are actually marketing problems
9. 100% of 0 is nothing
10. 3 Years in and Feeling Burned Out
11. CEO is lying to potential clients and investors about our number of paid users. And it’s in writing
12. How to price your product in a way that communicates quality
13. If “You don’t need to go to school to become an entrepreneur” where do you learn business finance?

The Study

Schou, P. K., Eliane, B., & Matthias, W. (2022). Entrepreneurial learning in online communities. Small Business Economics, 58(4), 2087-2108. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00502-8

It is an old adage among entrepreneurship practitioners and educators that failure is an essential ingredient for future success. Leaders of winning startups often list past failures, pivots, and do-overs as badges of honor gained on the road to profitable venture creation.

Is failure always a good teacher?

Perhaps not.

Earlier this year Gottschalk and Müller of the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research and the University of Mannheim, Institute for SME Research tackled the idea of startup failure in their report A second chance for failed entrepreneurs: A good idea? Their study compared how long a startup company survived when run by entrepreneurs who previously failed vs. brand new entrepreneurs. They found that startups managed by leaders with prior failures did WORSE than those who were new to entrepreneurship.

What’s going on? The researchers suggest that the group of failed entrepreneurs contains a higher percentage of leaders with “below-average entrepreneurial talent.” As a group they perform worse because the some of the most talented entrepreneurs won previously – diluting the talent pool in the second (or third or fourth) round.

The Takeaway

As entrepreneurship educators, supporters, and advocates, we need to be honest when working with second chance entrepreneurs. Perhaps they failed because of market forces or poor timing, insufficient capital, or other causes. However, they may have failed because they do not currently have what it takes – skills, aptitude, character, etc. – to succeed in a very, very difficult endeavor.

We need to do a good job of helping these entrepreneurs carefully triage their past experience, explore the root causes of prior failure, and evaluate the role entrepreneurial talent deficiencies may have played in the eventual outcome. Those are hard, but essential, conversations. Once understand, specific talent deficiencies can be addressed through training, mentorship, and partners.

The Study

Gottschalk, S., & Müller, B. (2022). A second chance for failed entrepreneurs: A good idea? Small Business Economics, 59(2), 745-767. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-021-00584-4

See Also: Harrell, E. (2020, May). Maybe failure isn’t the best teacher. Harvard Business Review, Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/magazines/maybe-failure-isnt-best-teacher/docview/2403116176/se-2