Fail Forward: Failure is part of success!

On 29 June 2026, everything at IGNITE revolved around a side of entrepreneurship that is talked about far too rarely: failure. Behind every successful founding there are not only good ideas and great successes, but also challenges, setbacks and decisions that may turn out to be mistakes in hindsight.

With our event Fail Forward, we wanted to give exactly these experiences a stage and show that failure does not have to be an end, but is often the beginning of something new.

Honest insights instead of perfect success stories

We were glad to welcome four exciting speakers, Jennifer Färber, Miriam Bundel, Jan Fischer and Felix Hackbarth, who openly shared their personal experiences with us.

The focus was not on the usual success stories but on the moments when things did not go to plan. It was about setbacks, difficult decisions and how to deal with challenges, learn from mistakes and keep going afterwards.

It was precisely these honest insights that made the event so valuable. They showed that even behind successful people there is not always a straight path.

Fail. Learn. Move Forward.

One of the most important messages of the evening: mistakes are not automatically something negative. What matters is how we deal with them and what we take away from them.

Especially in entrepreneurship, where new ideas are tried out, risks are taken and unknown paths are followed, setbacks are often simply part of the journey. Those who are willing to learn from their experiences can grow from them and develop new perspectives.

With Fail Forward, we also wanted to help foster a more open culture of failure, in which not only successes are celebrated but the lessons learned along the way also have their place.

What do we take away?

For us, Fail Forward was an inspiring event that showed how valuable it can be to talk openly about mistakes. Our speakers’ personal stories encouraged us to pursue our own ideas, take on challenges and not be discouraged by setbacks.

A huge thank you to Jennifer Färber, Miriam Bundel, Jan Fischer and Felix Hackbarth for their openness, their experience and the valuable insights. And of course to everyone who was there and shared this evening with us!

Fail. Learn. Move Forward. 🚀