October 20th, 2008
Announcing The Next Event : FailCamp

“Whatt?”
That was the puzzled expression from my friend when he heard about the next event that we, at The Knowledge Foundation, are organizing.  That puzzlement is understandable. As a society, we have always celebrated success and looked down upon failure.  Failing is taboo. So why hold an event with “that theme” asked my friend, not even wanting to say the ‘F’ word.
Why?  Because, failure is the best teacher. And the real failure is looking away and not learning from it.  Thus, the event.  It’s an opportunity to get together and share our experiences and learn from each other.  The tag line for the event exactly emphasises that. Learn. Share. Succeed.
FailCamp is a one day friendly unconference where people get together to share and learn from other’s experiences. FailCamp will attract people who are brave enough to acknowledge their failures and people who have the thirst to learn.  These are two qualities that make a person real interesting and those are the folks that you’d want to move with.
Many times I’ve seen people succeed because they aren’t afraid to fail.  Fear makes us tread the safe path which may not be the most exciting. The camp is an attempt to celebrate folks who had the guts the try out the extraordinary, even if it means they didn’t succeed.  It’s a celebration of not being afraid to fail.
It’s also a celebration of perseverance. I love what Michael Jordon said, ”I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Gosh!
If you’re interested, head over to http://www.barcamp.org/failcamp . (The password is C4mp )The capacity will be consciously kept small, around 50 to 75 participants. We’ve found this to be the sweet-spot for a closed door, interactive session.  As always, the basic rules apply. No passive spectators. Everyone must be prepared to speak. And even better if you can help out with organizing the event.

Tags: ,


26 Responses to “Announcing The Next Event : FailCamp”

  1. Jyothi Lakshmi says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:10 AM

    Love the idea. After a series of technology related unconferences, its refreshing to come across an event that’s closer to life! Please mention the date and the venue as soon as you are able to get a fix on it.

  2. Adrian Sobers says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:11 AM

    I notice that FailCamp is hosted on the BarCamp website. BarCamp has a strong technology connotation. If your idea is to keep the event neutral and not just about tech & entreprenership, then move it to its own domain. Like failcamp.net or failcamp.info.

    BTW, check out FailCamp Philly that took place on July 26th this year.

  3. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:11 AM

    Hey Adrian,

    You make a nice point about the site not being part of Barcamp.org because of its tech lineage. Coincidentally, yesterday, we did book FailCamp.in domain and will eventually move the site to this site.

    Yes, I did check the Philly FailCamp. Thanks for letting us know. Cheers!

  4. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:12 AM

    Hi Jyothi,

    Glad you liked the theme of the unconference.

    We are still looking at nailing the venue. The day will definitely be on one of the Sundays in November.

    Do suggest any venue options that you know of.

    Cheers!

  5. Kalairajan.T says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:12 AM

    Kiruba, do you know if similar failcamps are taking place in other Indian cities?

  6. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:12 AM

    Kalai, none that I know of. Would be great to see it happen, though. All it takes for a person or two to take the initiative to conduct it. I’ll be happy to help anyone who wants to start one in other cities.

  7. RAM says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:13 AM

    Hey i got the minutes of barcamp
    http://ozonplusradio.com/?p=24

  8. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:13 AM

    Thanks Ram for the link. Cheers!

  9. Anonymous says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:13 AM

    A suggestion. Don’t live blog or videotape the event. When people know its not being covered, they feel a lot more comfortable in opening up and talking about their failures.

  10. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:14 AM

    Great point. Thanks.

  11. Gdn | TD says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:14 AM

    Haha! Impressive concept.. Yes, failure is given lesser credit than what it deserves. I mean, as long as you get a lesson out of it, its worth it. Having a love for failure is definitely a unique trait to have. People with such a character coming together will indeed be an interesting event. Have Fun..

  12. venkatramanan says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:14 AM

    Kiruba!
    As usual a unique one!

    Hope you are including Vijay Rayapti -
    http://vijay-rayapati.blogspot.com/2008/06/what-we-are-and-what-we-dream-to-be-why.html

    Regards
    Venkat

  13. Karthick Prabu says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:15 AM

    @Kiruba,

    Registered as a participant.

    Let me know the time of the event (date and venue is mentioned in the failcamp site).

  14. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:15 AM

    Hey Karthik,

    Good to see you register for the event.

    The date is 16th November. A Sunday.

    The Venue is TenthPlanet on MountRoad. You can get the address from the website http://www.barcamp.org/failcamp

    Cheers!

  15. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:15 AM

    Hi Venky, a great recommendation. Read through the blog post and I was very impressed. Have written to Vijay and invited him for the event.

    Let me know who else you want invited.

    Cheers!

  16. Karthick Prabu says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:16 AM

    @Kiruba,

    Thanks for the Info. I’m afraid I do not know the time of the event.

  17. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:16 AM

    Haha! Impressive concept.. Yes, failure is given lesser credit than what it deserves. I mean, as long as you get a lesson out of it, its worth it. Having a love for failure is definitely a unique trait to have. People with such a character coming together will indeed be an interesting event. Have Fun..

    Well said, GDN. Thanks for the encouragemnet. Quite looking forward to the experience.

  18. mbjesq says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:16 AM

    Kribs:

    The impetus for this camp is a significant realization. It was a point I made some time ago in my essay The Auntie-Factor and the Myth of Indian Entrepreneurism. Check it out.

    MBJ

  19. ranjit nair says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:16 AM

    Oops ! Would ‘fail’ to attend the event :) Not in town ! A really nice idea.The importance and if I may say so, the ‘joy’ & ‘learning’ that accompanies failure is unmatched by anything else. I have seen lots of VCs in US preferring to fund startups with teams that have failed once or twice than those who have an impeccable track record.
    My best wishes for a great event. Btw,hope you remember me (the Satyam guy)

  20. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:20 AM

    The impetus for this camp is a significant realization. It was a point I made some time ago in my essay The Auntie-Factor and the Myth of Indian Entrepreneurism. Check it out.

    Hi Mark, awesome to hear from you. Been ages since we had that lunch at Annalakshmi.

    I loved the title of your blog post even before I read it. And liked the blog even more after I read it. You put it well.

    I remember well what Ramaraj, my ex-boss at Sify and now a VC with Sequoia, once said, ” If you breathe the air in Silicon Valley often,, you become an entrepreneur. If you breathe the air in Chennai, you get a job” !

    Hey Mark, are you in town on November 16th? It would be so awesome if you can make it to the event and share your experiences. I’d *really* like to invite you. Do let me know.

  21. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:21 AM

    Oops ! Would ‘fail’ to attend the event :) Not in town ! A really nice idea.The importance and if I may say so, the ‘joy’ & ‘learning’ that accompanies failure is unmatched by anything else. I have seen lots of VCs in US preferring to fund startups with teams that have failed once or twice than those who have an impeccable track record.
    My best wishes for a great event. Btw,hope you remember me (the Satyam guy)

    Hi Ranjit, yet I remember you well. Too bad you won’t be able to make it to the event.

    Totally agree with you about the VC attitute in the valley. One of the things we are planning to do is to invite a VC and talk about this attitude.

  22. >>Jass<< says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:21 AM

    Sounds very interesting! Looking forward to fail camp! :)

  23. Anitha says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:22 AM

    Good luck for the event and three cheers to the great idea.

    - Anitha

  24. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:22 AM

    Good luck for the event and three cheers to the great idea.

    Thanks Anitha for the encouragement. Glad you liked the idea interesting.

  25. Kiruba Shankar says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:22 AM

    Sounds very interesting! Looking forward to fail camp! :)

    Thanks a lot and look forward to the event, myself. Cheers!

  26. Himanshu Sheth says:
    May 22, 2009 at 1:23 AM

    Hey Kiruba,
    It will be great to be at FailCamp.I have already noted down many things that have recently happened and would share at FailCamp.

    Loved the concept and it would be great to see handful yet open-minded participants.

    Lookig forward to meet you guys[I still remember the first BlogCamp in Chennai which was a life changer] and hope that FailCamp repeats the same :)

    -Himanshu Sheth
    http://snipr.com/4pzl5-786

Leave a Reply


Syndicate this site