Once I’d officially failed, my friend, colleague, and investor Alice asked me, ‘are you happy you did it?’.

A hard question.

I failed last year. Closed down the startup I started. An adulting, unarguable, and public failure. I let people down - my investors and team members were mostly friends. Thinking about it now I feel ashamed and a bit sick. This isn’t a complaint. I’ve had plenty of good luck in life, some earned though lots not, and I deserved what I got this time.

So, am I happy I did it? That seems easy. No, I’m not happy I did it. Starting a startup was a painful way to lose my time, and (mainly) other people’s money.

But it’s not that simple, even if it wasn’t worth it.

Intuitively, a good startup idea offers users more of something. If your product does more than a product users already love, won't they love your product?

Why weirdos, not entrepreneurs, will change the world.