Om Malik pfp
Om Malik
@ommalik
What Failure Taught Me Ten years ago, I had to shut down GigaOM, a company that carried my name and, for a long time, I thought was my legacy. Looking back now, I can see how that spectacular, public failure transformed me in ways I couldn't have imagined at the time. The first lesson? Time really is the greatest healer. A told me it would take at least three years to get over such a loss, and he was right. By year five, I had become a better person precisely because I had failed so publicly. Failure taught me the empathy I needed to become a better investor and mentor to other founders. After all, unless they're psychopaths, most founders are simply trying their best in imperfect situations to achieve perfect outcomes.
1 reply
6 recasts
30 reactions
Om Malik pfp
Om Malik
@ommalik
Perhaps the most profound lesson was learning to look beyond immediate outcomes. What seemed like devastating wounds at the time have become battle scars I now cherish. Former colleagues became lifelong friends. Ideas we pioneered—from paid subscriptions to multiple revenue streams—are now industry standards. Most importantly, failure opened doors I didn't know existed. It led me to photography, where I learned to hear light and see wind, finding new meaning in the slowness of time. What felt like the worst moment of my life was actually a journey to a better future—I just couldn't see it then. Remember this: your worst day might just be the universe's way of redirecting you to where you need to go. A longer version of this post is published and available on my website, https://om.co/2025/03/11/ten-years-later/
0 reply
1 recast
13 reactions