By Holly Kline
Launch Fishers, the successful local venture that provides shared workspace for area entrepreneurs, is working to educate people about the concept of failure and how it can lead to exciting innovation. The first Fail Fest business conference will explore this topic by providing speakers and panel discussions about real failures experienced by now-successful entrepreneurs. Organized by Launch Fishers, this one-day event will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Two Concourse at Crosspoint office building in Fishers.
“We’re trying to celebrate failures and innovation,” said John Wechsler, area entrepreneur and founder of Launch Fishers. “I think anyone who is an entrepreneur will find this worthwhile.”
Scheduled speakers include Gerry Dick, creator and host of “Inside Indiana Business,” Clay Robinson of Sun King Brewing Company and various other successful businesspeople who are willing to share their stories of failures. Wechsler stated that he will lead some of the panel discussions.
“We’re hoping to show how failure plays a role in innovation,” said Tony Monteleone, entrepreneurial services director at Launch Fishers. “We want to share the lessons of failures and show that the biggest and best have failed and are willing to share those failures with others.”
Wechsler expects attendees will take away specific lessons from the conference. “I think they’re going to be able to learn from the successes and failures of very successful entrepreneurs,” he stated.
Failure isn’t normally a popular subject and it might seem surprising to build an all-day event around the concept, so Wechsler explained why Fail Fest was developed. “The idea was discussed with a handful of people from this area and Indianapolis and we decided that anytime we can change the failure culture and get someone to take a risk, then that is a good thing,” he said. “Entrepreneurship and innovation is critical to building strong communities.”
Fail Fest tickets are $49 each and can be purchased when registering at http://failfest.us. “Our target audience is any entrepreneur or anyone who feels like they can learn from the successes and failures of others,” said Wechsler.
