3 TED Talks Every Entrepreneur Needs to Watch

Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. While you should always be doing industry research and working on the next phase of your hustle, sometimes you just want some inspiration to encourage you and get you in the right frame of mind.

Find this inspiration with a TED Talk! By utilizing this excellent resource, you and your team can learn from the failures and successes of industry leaders. Check out these 3 Talks to get started.

1. The Potential for Failure by Leticia Gasca

Leticia Gasca is an author and entrepreneur who shares that aspiring business owners need both flair and resilience in her TED talk, ‘Don’t fail fast—fail mindfully.’ She openly discusses a personal story about her failed former business of helping women to build and sustain an income while living in a poor state in Mexico.

While this venture was ultimately not a success, Gasca chose not to view it as a waste of time. She says to think of failures as an opportunity for new developments. Gasca expresses how important it is to have a realistic financial business plan. If things aren’t working, recognize when it’s time to close up shop and start anew.

Takeaway: Vulnerability and a positive mindset can shift you back to a place of personal and company growth. Gasca used that mindset to create a community of other failed business owners and opened the ‘Failure Institute,’ a place where they can gather and share stories of failure to one another without feeling shameful like they had in the past. Find power by shaping that shame into an eye-opening experience.

2. Importance Behind Employee Satisfaction by Christine Porath

Leadership researcher Christine Porath shares a science-based discussion on how disrespecting your employees will lead to your company’s downfall in ‘Why being respectful to your coworkers is good for businesses’. She shares the results of a case study she conducted; after asking the alumni about an experience when they felt they were treated poorly, she found that 66% cut their efforts, 80% lost work time, and 12% left their job. Can your business afford to take that hit?

Takeaway: Build a better company culture by asking the question: “How can you lift people up and make them feel respected?” Porath suggests implementing small changes like using words of affirmation, smiling and greeting people, and giving kind feedback to build respect in the workplace.

“Make sure your team feels heard by you,” advises Nexa. “Allow them to contribute to conversations and decisions on a daily basis, as is appropriate for your field…communication is key.”

This is crucial for entrepreneurs who hope to become leaders in the future. Focus on respectful actions from the beginning.

3. How to Start? Consider Time! by Bill Gross

Bill Gross is the founder of start-up business IdeaLab, and has launched more than 100 companies including PetSmart, Jobs.com, and Insider Pages. In his TED talk ‘The single biggest reason why startups succeed’, he discusses exactly what factors contribute to a business’ success or failure.  Gross himself has experienced many failed businesses through IdeaLab, and says the key factors of success are timing, team, business model, and funding.

Takeaway: Timing is everything. As an entrepreneur, you may have a wonderful idea but if the timing is off, you won’t succeed. Gross explains that out of the five factors for a successful business, proper timing accounts for 42% of the reasons why businesses succeed. You must decide if the consumer is ready and able to accept your start-up idea and if the market will pick up on its use. The bigger picture shows us that it does not matter if we have wonderful business plans and a realistic budget. It falls down to the needs of the consumer for the takeoff of a successful business.

Get to it!

Entrepreneurs and future business owners can only benefit by learning from experienced entrepreneurs like those on this list. This is just the beginning, but it is a great way to get some inspiration and learn from the pros’ mistakes. Now it’s up to you to get started!