Off The Record: Support Doesn’t Count Only When It’s Seen
It’s easy to applaud risk when the outcome is good; the real test is how we respond when it’s not.
Not too long ago, I found myself in a conversation where a founder’s name came up. I can’t say I knew this entrepreneur too well, but I was familiar with them and with the startup they had built in the region, which had seen some impressive highs before it shut down, rather unexpectedly. That last detail was what drew the most attention in the group I was with, and while most of us were sympathetic to the founder in question, one didn’t hesitate to label them “a failure.”
Now, that framing went unchallenged for a beat longer than I thought it should have, and so, I pushed back. Yes, the company didn’t make it—but that does not make the founder a failure. I pointed out that saying otherwise goes against everything we claim in public about failure being part and parcel of the entrepreneurial journey—or is all that just talk, while our private judgements remain hopelessly regressive?
This, by the way, wasn’t the first time I have heard a take like this. Plenty of people in this region talk a big game about “embracing failure”—right up until someone actually falls short. We champion boldness in theory, but abandon it in practice. Also, it’s easy to applaud risk when the outcome is good; the real test is how we respond when it’s not.
After all, it’s one thing to say that failure is part of building—but that belief needs to show up in the rooms where no one’s performing. It bears repeating not just in panel discussions or polished social media posts, but in WhatsApp chats, investor debriefs, and quiet side conversations—the ones that shape reputations far more than we like to admit.
Because in the end, it’s not about what’s said in the spotlight—it’s about what’s said when someone isn’t in the room. And if we want to build an ecosystem that truly supports founders, we need more people willing to speak up when it counts—especially when no one’s watching.
This article first appeared in the July 2025 issue of Inc. Arabia magazine. To read the full issue online, click here.
