Stephen Dubner

She would list locations, prices, availability, and then you would use her app to schedule lessons. That was the idea. Now she just had to build it.

So she hired a web developer.

So she hired a web developer.

So she hired a web developer.

Oshkosh is a massive air show held every year in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. And when I say massive, think of Lollapalooza and Burning Man combined, but for aviation.

Oshkosh is a massive air show held every year in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. And when I say massive, think of Lollapalooza and Burning Man combined, but for aviation.

Oshkosh is a massive air show held every year in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. And when I say massive, think of Lollapalooza and Burning Man combined, but for aviation.

The debut turned out to be a disaster. Flight schools weren't interested. They were skeptical of Hoffman and her product. Most of them weren't interested in digitizing their systems anyway. It was a terrible experience, but she didn't give up.

The debut turned out to be a disaster. Flight schools weren't interested. They were skeptical of Hoffman and her product. Most of them weren't interested in digitizing their systems anyway. It was a terrible experience, but she didn't give up.

The debut turned out to be a disaster. Flight schools weren't interested. They were skeptical of Hoffman and her product. Most of them weren't interested in digitizing their systems anyway. It was a terrible experience, but she didn't give up.

That was Jill Hoffman. Now on to John Boykin, who lives in Belmont, California, between San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

That was Jill Hoffman. Now on to John Boykin, who lives in Belmont, California, between San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

That was Jill Hoffman. Now on to John Boykin, who lives in Belmont, California, between San Francisco and Silicon Valley.

This was about 10 years ago.

This was about 10 years ago.

This was about 10 years ago.

How much money did Boykin lose?

How much money did Boykin lose?

How much money did Boykin lose?

John Boykin, Jill Hoffman, Travis Thull, they all tried and failed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 20% of new businesses fail in their first two years and 45% in their first five years. So they have a lot of company. How should we think about their failure? Well, remember what we heard earlier from the innovation scholar, Eric von Hippel?