Chapin “Back to the Basics,” Talks Failure and What’s Next

If there exists a playbook for what to do after your well-funded tech startup implodes by your own hand, Andrew Chapin isn’t aware of it: “I sure would have liked to know what happens when it stops being pitch decks and rainbows.”

It’s been two years since the failure of Chapin’s advertising technology company and while he claims he has grown through the experience “in every single way,” he says processing the event and related fall out is a persistent daily struggle.

The struggle lead Chapin to a productive end, nudging him to explore two key components to entrepreneurship: starting up and shutting down. The result? Two new media properties that Chapin hopes provide value to those in the entrepreneurship community.

On starting up, Chapin announced the Small Business World Tour podcast which is set to begin publishing weekly episodes later this summer. The Small Business World Tour is “on a mission to share great small business stories from around the world,” according to the official podcast website.

“I’m excited to dig into some real-deal, local small business stories. Following the announcement, we had a good amount of interest from small businesses eager to share their origin stories and struggles. What has been funny about that is the follow-up; It’s been difficult to get people to dig deep because they’re too busy getting stuff done.”

“It’s a far cry,” says Chapin, “From the tech startup world I’ve spent most of my career in. A lot of venture-backed CEOs would have no problem jumping on a podcast for an hour in the middle of the day. Take that for what it’s worth.”

On shutting down, it’s Fail Company, a website which currently serves as a basic information directory of failed startups but holds promise for much more.

“One reflection I had following the failure of my startup is that I wish I had known what it looked like to fail,” Chapin said, “Things to look for, a language to use so I could speak about it with stakeholders, how to shift from the ‘tenacious and tough’ mindset to one accepting the brutally-honest truth that ‘this isn’t working.’”

Fail Company will develop content around that theme so it can serve as a guide for entrepreneurs faced with the prospect of failure.

These properties are two small parts of what Chapin says will be a lifelong commitment to the growth of entrepreneurship resources.