Ejovi Nuwere

They say you learn more from failure then success. Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about my past business failures and why they failed.

- 1994 : Printing business I started when I first got access to a computer. Tried to sell flyer designs to a local laundry mat but didn’t close the deal. After I showed him the first design I probably should have asked for a down payment while I worked on revisions. I didn’t enjoy the long sales process and eventually discovered the Internet.

- 1995 : Tried to start a web design company with a friend called “4Runner FX” our first customer was his dad, before we really ramped up I was hired by a local ISP and stopped working on it.

- 1997 : CPIO Security. At the time I was a OpenBSD developer and working at a ISP. CPIO was started by a group of OpenBSD and security folks. We spent a lot of time trying to raise money to sell a BSD based Firewall device. We never raised the money and I think some key people gave up on the idea. I think we should have just built the product and grown slowly. Don’t rely on someone elses money.

- 1999 : Import / Export company. American sports memoribilia and golfing equipment is big in Japan and commands a high premium. My girlfriend at the time was exporting sports memoribilia for a store in Tokyo and I thought we could easily expand it. Most of the Japanese sports memoribilia stores in Japan didn’t speak English very well and needed buyers in America. It was more of a service company. It’s probably still a decent idea, it won’t make you rich but I think one could do OK. Eventually I broke up with my girlfriend and the business died. Don’t go into business with your girlfriend.

- 2001 : Security consulting firm based out of Japan worked on bringing foreign security pros into the country. Japan is a tough place to do business and eventually I had to return to America for my book. I tried to build the consulting business in America but realized I needed more management experience and more connections.

- 2003 : Telephone calling cards. Built a VoIP calling card network in my spare time went out and bought calling card vending machines too. The target markets were Asian and African countries. This was probably the most frusting failure. I invested a lot of money into starting this business but it ultimately failed because I didn’t invest enough of my time and attention. I still have the vending machines as a reminder of what a lack of commitment ends in.

The telephone calling card was just a side gig, but after that failure I realized that in order to succeed I must commit. Sink or swim is my new approach. So I started SecurityLab with the idea that the only time I would stop was when we had no more money. I don’t know if it was my new approach or the fact that I focused on something a little closer to my sphere of “expertise.” I learned a lot about telecommunications, VoIP and how telecom companies screw the public, especially those in poor or disadvantaged situations. I still want to do something in telecom, which is probably why I’ve focused on VoIP security consulting.

So those are some of my failures. As a consultant I’ve worked with a lot of startups that ultimately failed. But its another thing when something you care about fails. Someone told me that a good sign of a successful entrepenuer is how long it takes them to recover from their last failure.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 22nd, 2005 at 7:01 am and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.