Stage 5 of 7 · 6 lessons · ~1 week

Failed projects and startups

A final year project that collapsed, a side project nobody used, a startup that ran out of money. Decide whether to stop or change course, close it properly with the people involved, and keep everything it taught you.

Start: Why projects usually fail

Lessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order

Do this

List the causes of one failed project, including ones outside your control
Write a stop or continue test with a number and a date for anything still running
Tell everyone involved clearly if it is ending, and settle what you owe
Archive or hand over the code and anything users depend on
List five things you gained and write one honest CV line

Start with

CourseFree
Startup School
Y Combinator · Beginner
Free lessons on finding users and knowing when an idea is not working

Practise

Sefism Build and Sell Your Own Product Roadmap
Restart smaller: a plan for shipping a product people can actually try

Keep handy

Notion
Keep your project post-mortem, decisions and lessons in one place

Also worth your time

The Courage to Be Disliked (Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga)ReadPaid
On separating your own tasks from other people's judgement of them

Before moving on: A closing note for one failed or stalled project: the causes you controlled and did not, your stop or continue test with a date, who you told and what you owed them, five things you gained, and one honest CV line.

Tauseef's advice

Projects fail all the time, including ones built by people who later build great things. What separates people is not whether they fail but how they close it: honestly, early, with people treated well and lessons written down. That is a skill, and it is worth practising.

Struggling right now? If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact local emergency services or a crisis line: Find a helpline (any country), Umang (Pakistan), Tele-MANAS, 14416 (India).