October 13

International Day for Failure

An international observance on October 13 encouraging individuals and organizations to openly discuss failures and the lessons learned from them.

Yearly Date

October 13

Observed

Internationally

Introduction

International Day for Failure asks people to do something most cultures actively discourage: talk about what went wrong. The observance originated at Aalto University in Finland, where students identified the fear of failure as one of the biggest barriers to starting a business in a country that consistently ranks among the world's most innovative.

The day has since spread to dozens of countries, fueled by a growing body of research showing that how people interpret failure, not just whether they experience it, determines long-term outcomes in entrepreneurship, education, and personal development.

International Day for Failure History

The relationship between failure and innovation is well documented in industrial history. Thomas Edison tested thousands of materials before finding a viable filament for his incandescent light bulb in 1879. James Dyson built 5,127 failed prototypes over five years before perfecting the bagless vacuum cleaner that launched his company in 1993.

These stories are now standard material in business schools, but for most of the 20th century, failure carried a professional and social stigma that discouraged people from discussing it openly.

Finland's Entrepreneurship Problem

By the late 2000s, Finland had built one of Europe's strongest innovation ecosystems, anchored by institutions like Aalto University and companies like Nokia. But researchers and policymakers identified a persistent cultural barrier: Finns were statistically less likely to start businesses than their Nordic neighbors, in part because failure was treated as a personal disgrace rather than a learning event.

A Student Initiative

In 2010, a group of students at Aalto University in Helsinki decided to confront this stigma directly. They organized the first International Day for Failure on October 13, creating a public platform for sharing stories of professional and personal setbacks. The initiative received immediate backing from prominent Finnish figures, including Nokia chairman Jorma Ollila and Peter Vesterbacka, the executive behind the global launch of Angry Birds.

The concept resonated beyond Finland. By 2012, the observance had spread to approximately 17 countries, with universities, startup accelerators, and corporate teams hosting their own events. The hashtag #dayforfailure became a vehicle for public confession, with participants sharing layoffs, failed startups, rejected applications, and abandoned projects.

From Stigma to Curriculum

The day's spread coincided with a broader cultural shift in how institutions treat failure. Stanford University's d.school built rapid prototyping and "failing fast" into its design thinking curriculum. The FailCon conference series, launched in San Francisco in 2009, dedicated entire programs to dissecting startup collapses. What began as a Finnish student campaign became part of a global conversation about the productive role of failure in innovation and education.

International Day for Failure Timeline

1983

Dyson perfects vacuum after 5,127 tries

James Dyson completed his 5,127th prototype of a bagless vacuum cleaner after five years of failed attempts in his garage, producing the design that would disrupt the home appliance industry.

2006

Dweck publishes growth mindset research

Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck published Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, establishing the research framework that distinguishes growth-oriented responses to failure from fixed-mindset avoidance.

2010

First Day for Failure held in Finland

Students at Aalto University in Helsinki held the first International Day for Failure on October 13, aiming to reduce the stigma around failure in Finnish entrepreneurial culture.

2012

Observance reaches 17 countries

The International Day for Failure expanded to approximately 17 countries within two years of its founding, with events organized by universities, startup communities, and corporate teams.

2014

FailCon movement peaks globally

FailCon, a conference series dedicated to studying and learning from startup failure, reached its peak international expansion with events held across multiple continents.

How to Celebrate International Day for Failure

1

Host a failure storytelling session

Organize a structured event where participants share a professional or personal failure and the specific lesson it produced. The Stanford Graduate School of Business entrepreneurship program uses similar formats to teach founders that setbacks are data points, not endpoints.
2

Read Carol Dweck's growth mindset research

Explore the research behind growth and fixed mindsets through Carol Dweck's Harvard Business Review article on what growth mindset actually means, which clarifies how beliefs about ability shape responses to failure. Applying Dweck's framework can change how you interpret your next setback.
3

Write a failure resume

List your most significant professional rejections, failed projects, and abandoned goals alongside what each one taught you. Princeton professor Johannes Haushofer popularized the concept in 2016 when his CV of Failures went viral, demonstrating that visible success often masks extensive prior failure.
4

Study a famous product failure

Research a well-documented product failure such as New Coke, Google Glass, or the Ford Edsel. The Harvard Business Review's innovation archive contains detailed case studies on why products fail and what companies learned from the experience.
5

Start a failure journal for future reference

Begin documenting setbacks as they happen, noting what went wrong, what you controlled, and what you would change. Maintaining a written record turns isolated disappointments into a searchable database of lessons that compounds value over time.

Why International Day for Failure is Important

A

Startup failure is the statistical norm

Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that approximately 20% of new businesses fail within their first two years, and roughly 65% fail within a decade. International Day for Failure provides a structured occasion to normalize these statistics and shift attention from avoiding failure to extracting value from it.
B

Growth mindset research links failure response to outcomes

Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck's research demonstrated that individuals who view ability as developable, a growth mindset, respond to failure with increased effort and strategy changes, while those with a fixed mindset disengage. The observance promotes the evidence-based position that how people interpret setbacks shapes their long-term trajectory.
C

Innovation depends on tolerating high failure rates

Research from MIT estimates that 80% of new products and innovations fail either wholly or in part. International Day for Failure draws attention to the structural reality that productive innovation requires organizations and individuals to absorb repeated failures as part of the development process.