Why We Start Businesses That Fail

It's estimated that 90% of startups eventually fail. That simply means that as a startup founder or investor, you are betting on a horse that only wins 10% of the time. That also means that if you take 100 of these horses and bet a dollar on each one, you should expect $90 of your hard-earned money to go bye-bye.

So why do we start businesses and invest in startups when the rate of failure is so ridiculously high? The answer is simple: it's because we humans are relentlessly stupid risk-takers. And that's what makes us this flawed, dumb, awesome creature. Taking risks is what makes life so incredibly exciting. Imagine how freaking boring life would be if some schmuck didn't look at a perfectly good airplane and ask, "Hmm, I wonder how it feels to jump out of that thing and freefall... and somehow land in one piece." Or if someone didn't look at a 3,000-foot cliff and wonder, "I might be able to climb that bitch!" Or if someone didn't look at a magnificent, howling wolf on top of a boulder and ask, "I wonder if I can turn that thing into a chihuahua!"

So why do we bet on this horse and start businesses that fail? We bet on this horse because that's who we are. We are a thrill-seeking species that doesn't give a shit if this horse keeps losing. We are here for the ride.