Instructor Resource
Neck, Entrepreneurship, 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Answers to Questions in the Text
Chapter 11: Learning from Failure
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ACTION
Tom Hatten, founder and CEO, Mountainside Fitness
1. Tom Hatten turned down a lucrative offer from a competitor even though his business
had failed and he was facing bankruptcy. Do you think he made the right choice? Why or
why not?
Sample answer: Answers may vary from student to student. This would almost certainly be a
2. What positive or constructive lessons can you derive from Hatten’s story?
3. Imagine one or more failure scenarios for a business of your own. How do you think you
would respond to the threat of failure?
Sample answer: Answers will vary from student to student. Consider noting that in any
ENTREPRENEURSHIP MEETS ETHICS
Learning from Failure
1. How would you decide which course of action is the right one if you were Huh?
Instructor Resource
Neck, Entrepreneurship, 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Sample answer: Unethical behavior may seem to pay off in the short run; but in the long run it
2. How difficult is it to remove the emotional aspect of decision making in order to make
the most ethical decision?
3. Do you believe there are reasons why an entrepreneur might “deserve” to fail, or “need
to learn a lesson the hard way” through failure? If not, why not? If so, give some
examples.
Sample answer: Answers may differ from student to student. As difficult as it can be to
experience failure, rejection, disappointment, and loss, such experiences—and the emotions
RESEARCH AT WORK
Grief and Business Failure
1. Would you agree that entrepreneurs have an emotional connection to their businesses?
Why/Why not?
2. How do you think the grief recovery process can help entrepreneurs overcome the loss
of their businesses?
Instructor Resource
Neck, Entrepreneurship, 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Sample answer: An understanding of the grief recovery process can help an entrepreneur to
success.
3. What steps would you take to get over the loss or failure of a business?
MINDSHIFT
Your Failure Resume
1. Was it easier than you expected, or more difficult, to list your biggest failures?
Sample answer: If students are honest, they will probably admit that it was harder than they
2. What emotions did you experience as you wrote your “failure resume”?
3. How do you think you will be able to take the lessons learned from your failures and use
them to attain more success in the future?
Instructor Resource
Neck, Entrepreneurship, 1e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Summary Questions
1. Describe failure and its effect on entrepreneurs.
Learning and further opportunities often come with failure. Failure does, however, come with
2. Identify several different types of reasons for failure.
3. Describe the consequences of fear of failure for entrepreneurs.
4. Explain the different ways entrepreneurs can learn from failure.
Failure often goes hand-in-hand with experimentation, with each iteration bringing a product
5. Describe the significance of “grit” and its role in building tolerance for failure.