Jason M. Lemkin argues that the famous 90% startup failure rate is misleading. Exceptional founders with strong technical skills, deep market knowledge, and long-term commitment rarely fail. The difference: great teams almost failed constantly but kept going.
I think that all the metrics on startups that fail, that 90% fail, I think these are Sony baloney metrics. I think truly great founders, truly great, that have a great CTO and cto, or a CTO that can be both, that can build amazing software, that do not quit, that commit for years, not months, but years, and that understand a market. I've seen 0% fail. I've never failed in my entire career from startup. I've almost failed every time. Almost failed every time. And I look back on different cohorts and I just think of the peers I've had at different phases of my life. The ones that had great co founders, great CTOs, and were pointed in the right direction didn't quit. And the best ones almost failed. They turned that 90% failure rate into 0.9, but they almost fail all the time. Everyone has an almost.
