Learning To Fail

What can adult founders learn from fearless teenagers? Plenty.

- Stephanie Schomer

Koby Wheeler has launched and crashed three businesses. But he’s not embarrassed by any of it. “It gives me more confidence,” he says, “because I have those experiences. I know to ask better questions, I know to trust my gut, and I have a more long term way of thinking.”

It’s a good perspective to have at any age—and in Wheeler’s case, he’s starting young. He’s a freshman at the University of Texas at Dallas. His first three businesses failed while he was in high school. And he attributes his thick skin to a program he completed prior to graduation: It’s called Whatever It Takes (WIT), a San Diego–based program that helps high schoolers ideate and launch businesses for college credit, and it puts a heavy emphasis on learning to celebrate their failures.