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1/I’ve failed at starting businesses far more often than I’ve succeeded.
You never hear about the 25 businesses I tried to start but could never get off the ground, because people only talk about the wins (including me).
So let me tell you about a couple of my failures..
You never hear about the 25 businesses I tried to start but could never get off the ground, because people only talk about the wins (including me).
So let me tell you about a couple of my failures..
2.1/ I wanted to start Kayak for Mortgages.
I applied for a mortgage in 2014, and the process was awful. Mailing in bank statements? Filling out the same fields about my net worth, SSN, and income five times?
I applied for a mortgage in 2014, and the process was awful. Mailing in bank statements? Filling out the same fields about my net worth, SSN, and income five times?
2.2/ Imagine a process where you just linked your bank account to your mortgage provider. They pulled all the information like income, net worth, employer, etc. automatically. They even refinance your mortgage automatically when rates drop and save you money.
2.3/ Well, I started that. It was called Zenlen. I love this idea. I applied to YC with it. I got an interview with my cofounder. We didn’t get accepted, and he quit right after we got this email. So I did it myself. Zenlen.com was Kayak for Home Loans. 
2.4/But I couldn't get any mortgage applications. It costs like $100 per click to bid on that keyword on Google. When you’re bootstrapped, you can afford five clicks before closing up shop.
2.5/ So I pivoted. I started selling leads for people buying title insurance, hoping this could translate into mortgage applications. I had a little bit of success - we got 20 leads or so after spending $500.
2.6/ But the leads never lead to new business for title insurance, and I hated just building lead funnels, so I closed up shop after a few weeks.
2.7/ The crazy part? I pivoted again into deodorant, and that business was called Native. In fact, Native was owned by Zenlen, Inc. When P&G bought Zenlen, Inc., they didn’t change the name and actually put a few more businesses under that entity.
2.8/ So today, Procter & Gamble owns Zenlen, Inc. and several businesses (including Native) operate under that entity. One day, some attorney is going to be like “why the fuck is this entity named Zenlen Inc.” and he’ll never get it.
3.1/ Okay, story #2. Where To (mobile app).
Let me tell you about the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done. I tried to start a Social Location Mobile application called where to. Where should you go out to after dinner? After the game? After work?
Let me tell you about the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done. I tried to start a Social Location Mobile application called where to. Where should you go out to after dinner? After the game? After work?
3.2/ Where To would have a suggestion for you. It was foursquare meets yelp meets text messaging meets groupon. And it’s the worst idea ever. EVER.
3.3/ But I was young and stupid, so my cofouder and I tried to get this off the ground. We hired developers in Pakistan (ask me about a hilarious story of force majeure with these guys if you ever meet me). They did a pretty good job making the application. See some photos below. 
3.4/ Once the app was nearly complete, I started pitching bars to offer discounts for people using it. I cold walked into bars and tried to sell them. Give people who use our app a discount.
These cold walkins were so fucking painful. Only one bar agreed - Red Lion on Bleeker.
These cold walkins were so fucking painful. Only one bar agreed - Red Lion on Bleeker.
3.5/ Anyway, someone set me up to get coffee with @msuster. I have no idea how it happened, but we met. After I told him our idea, I’ll never forget what he said. “How honest do you want me to be?” he asked. I said “brutal”. And he was.
3.6/ He said this was terrible. He said we had no idea what we were doing. He was right.
Do something not sexy. Sell office supplies. Don’t try to become the playboy of NYC by creating a sexy app.
I almost cried after he tore into our idea, but he was right.
Do something not sexy. Sell office supplies. Don’t try to become the playboy of NYC by creating a sexy app.
I almost cried after he tore into our idea, but he was right.
3.7/ I doubt he'll remember that meeting. But I'll never forget it. I almost cried, but he saved me years of working on an idea that would have never worked. I'm forever grateful to him for this meeting.
3.8/ We pivoted and started Caskers - groupon for alcohol (I listened, but not well). This was the first successful business I started, and when we sold it 18 months later, I became a millionaire before the age of 30.
4.1/ This thread is really meant for you to realize that failure is soooo common. It has happened to everyone.
You may not hear about it often, but the people you think are successful were failures first. That's just the road we all walked down to get where we are today.
You may not hear about it often, but the people you think are successful were failures first. That's just the road we all walked down to get where we are today.
4.2/ If you've tried to start a business and it failed, you and I are in the same boat. In fact, I’m the fucking captain of the boat. After all, I’ve got more experience at failing than you do.
4.2/ But let me tell you right now as the leader of the Failures - it’s time to get back up again.
Don't be scared. You can do it. I believe in you.
Don't be scared. You can do it. I believe in you.
5. If you enjoyed this thread, please retweet the first tweet and follow me here @moizali
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Shaan Puri @ShaanVP
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Aug 22, 2022
Great thread