Big Ass Fans founder Carey Smith led the fan and light maker from $0 to its $500 million sale. He started working at age 9 and has never stopped. His “secret” to success is common sense, and he’s happy to share it. His firm, Unorthodox Ventures, focuses on finding small companies with big potential.
Sooner or later, every TED Talker and self-appointed thought leader will expound on the subject of failure: how failure is essential, how to embrace it, even how to celebrate it. Many of them will trot out the old bromide “When one door closes, another one opens” to encourage you to see failure as opportunity. Hey—they’re motivational speakers. What are they supposed to say? Go sulk in your room for a year?
What I might say is, “If you’re not failing, then you’re not working hard enough.” My
