In Uzbekistan’s startup ecosystem, there is a peculiar and counterproductive stigma: if a project closes, it is viewed as a “shame” or a “failure.” The skeptical whispers of “I told you it wouldn’t work” often extinguish the fire of promising entrepreneurs. However, in the global tech world, the perspective is entirely different: closing a startup is not a defeat—it is capital converted into invaluable knowledge.
Killed by Google
Google, one of the world’s wealthiest corporations, has shut down over 290 projects to date (including Google Plus, Stadia, and Picasa). This does not signify weakness; rather, it demonstrates Google’s immense intelligence. The “Killed by Google” list is essentially the world’s most expensive experimental laboratory. Google quickly identifies a failing hypothesis and redirects billions of dollars toward more promising frontiers, such as Artificial Intelligence. For them, closing a project is about rescuing resources from a mistake and reallocating them toward growth.
The Legacy of failed projects
Sometimes, the death of a startup leads to the birth of a giant. For instance, Slack, a messenger now valued at over $27 billion, was built from the ruins of a failed online game called “Glitch.” The game died, but the internal chat system created for the team became the product itself. Similarly, Amazon lost $170 million on the Fire Phone project. To many, this was a disaster. But for Jeff Bezos, it was a necessary lesson. The engineers and the experience gained from that failure eventually created Amazon Echo (Alexa), which is now used globally. Without that initial “shameful” defeat, Alexa would not exist today.
In Silicon Valley, investors often trust a “Serial Founder” who has closed 2–3 projects more than a first-time entrepreneur. The statistics are brutal: the probability of success on the first attempt is only about 18%. Every closed startup is a founder’s most practical and expensive “MBA lesson.” In Uzbekistan, we must stop confusing a startup with a classic business. In a classic business, closing is bankruptcy; in a startup, it is a validation of a hypothesis and a transition to the next stage (a Pivot).
The world’s most famous game, Angry Birds, was Rovio’s 52nd attempt. Their previous 51 projects were all “failures.” If we want a strong ecosystem in Uzbekistan, we must stop mocking those who close their startups and start respecting their courage. Because only those who take risks create the future.
If you are a founder and your project has closed, know this: you did not lose. You simply gained the kind of high-level knowledge that most people are too afraid to seek. And this is only the beginning.
