While most business seminars and conferences tend to focus on success stories, the Fear & Fail Conference will look at the other end of the spectrum and explore the phenomenon of professional failure with an optimistic eye, in order to learn from it.
Co-organised by the Lincoln Island Company and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Executive Development (CEED) of Slovenia, the one-day event will focus on risks, fiascos and fears associated with startups to help entrepreneurs overcome doubts and obstacles. Apply here to attend the conference, which will be held on 26 October in Ljubljana. The exact venue will be announced by mid-October.
Learning from failure
Jose Antonio Morales, founder of the Lincoln Island Company and initiator of the conference, started crafting the idea for the conference together with Andraž Tori, who, during a business conference, asked why it was so difficult to learn from failure. “We got a bit too philosophical about the failure idea until we discovered that fear is as important. In many cases failure happens as inaction caused by fear,” said Morales.
A collaborative conference
The event will take place in a forum format fully in English, where speakers and the conference team will sit down together. There will be 15-minute talks, some of them to be recorded and published, followed by a discussion panel and teamwork for the participants. These teams will then prepare a 3-5-minute presentation on stage.
“We want it to happen in some sort of warm or intimate environment, where a conversation may arise. We want the participants and speakers to feel equally engaged,” said Morales.
The organisers have found that people are interested in the topic and expect to attract about 50 applicants for this first edition. “We see that entrepreneurs are willing to share their experiences and understand the importance of building a society that embraces courage,” said Morales. “Fear and failure are everywhere. We will talk about it from personal, business and philosophical perspectives.”
The Speakers
The conference will comprise talks from both local and international guests, including Urška Simčič, Ana Skrt, Aleš Rosina and Matej Golob, who are all members of the TEDx Ljubljana team. Among the confirmed guests are also owner and founder of Vibacom Violeta Bulc, Buddhist teacher Robert Ivanc, as well as ClearFear Game’s developer Christian Eggenberger and Hungarian DoGood community founder István Joós.
However, the call for speakers (whose accommodation and travel expenses will be covered) is still open. In addition to the seminar itself, the event will also include pre-conference activities on 25 October, a dinner party for the speakers and teams, as well as a few relaxed toursaround Ljubljana for the foreign guests.
Beyond the conference
According to the organisers, this forum is not planned as a one-time event, but is meant to be the beginning of a movement. “Afterwards, we’ll organise informal meet-ups at cafés in the cities. We’d like to start running Fear & Fail Conferences in other countries as well, initially in Europe,” said Morales.
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