Research can often prevent the need to fail fast

I have several drafts on the topic of research and startups. Until I finish one of those I leave you with Erika Hall’s excellent summary of the topic: How the ‘Failure’ Culture of Startups Is Killing Innovation.

Money quote:

“Somewhere along the way, it got to be uncool to reduce one’s risk of failure.

Part of this may be because the risk of failure is dramatically lower than it used to be. But another reason is that many people don’t actually understand what research is, and have somehow conflated concepts like “rapid prototyping,” “lean startup,” “minimal viable product,” and “[insert] other smart-sounding thing to do” with avoiding research.

Failure is now a badge of honor. Somewhere along the way, it got to be uncool to reduce one’s risk of failure.
That kind of thinking might be fine for entrepreneurs focusing only on their personal risk and fear of failure, but it has real financial, cultural, and opportunity costs for businesses.