James LaughlinHigh-performance leadership and executive coach. Covering all aspects of life and career.

Failure isn’t the goal, but avoiding it at all costs guarantees mediocrity.

29 Jan 2026 · 0 min

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James Laughlin on venture capital: 81 portfolio companies lost money, but that's built into the model. Chasing zero failures means playing it safe, and safe investments never generate the outsized returns that matter.

Questions this video answers

Recovering less than the original investment (example: invest $100, get $50 back).

We've had 81 companies fail. And a failure would be defined as we got less than our money back. So sometimes they sell or go through some sort of liquidation event, and we get some dollars. But if you give them $100 and you get 50 back, that's a loss. And the goal is not to have companies fail. So it's not like a badge of honor. But it is also the reality of venture capital. And if you tried to optimize away from failure, you as a firm will fail, because safe bets don't equal outsized returns.