Stop being afraid of failure and start embracing it.

FailCon is a one-day conference for entrepreneurs, investors, developers, designers, and even "corporate america" to study their own and others' failures and prepare for success.

We all have founded, worked for or invested in startups that have failed. We're smart, we keep up with the latest in technology trends, but sometimes just don't go as planned. How can you predict what will work and what won't? Well, you can't.

But that doesn't mean you should stop trying. It just means you should start exchanging stories of what didn't work and how you pivoted, why you couldn't raise money, what the wrong hires were like, and when you decided it was time to let go. Entrepreneurs need to hear that from each other: that it's okay to fail, it doesn't mean you're worthless. You're just like the rest of us, learning from our making mistakes and building something bigger next time.

FailCon was started in 2009 by Cass Phillipps in San Francisco, an event planner for startup events and Diane Loviglio, a founder of a cleantech startup.

They both produced or attended numerous events for the technology industry, but had begun to realize things were starting to get repetitive. Events put successful entrepreneurs on stage to talk about how they made their company great, something that's near-impossible to replicate, and never about what they learned from mistakes along the way. Their first event launched with over 400 attendees, and they
have continued to grow since then.

Failure is still a taboo topic all over the world, but FailCon is working to change that one city at a time. FailCon has expanded to several global cities and Charlotte will be the first US city outside of San Francisco to host FailCon.

Additionally, Finland has claimed October 13th as the International Day of Failure!

For real success to happen, a candid discussion and authentic learning from failure is critical.

We have lined up a great group of speakers…all with different perspectives and experiences with failure.

We hope you will join us for what will truly be a fun learning day!

 

Who Are The FailCon Charlotte Producers?

Teresa (Terry) Thorson Cox, Executive Producer

President & CEO, Business Innovation & Growth (BIG)

BIG is a non-profit membership organization, founded in 2006, and comprised of like minded high growth entrepreneurial companies in this region who share similar challenges in growing their businesses. We provide education, content, and best practices for a growth oriented company as well as access to resources and capital. The value of BIG is the peer to peer exchange that develops from being in the group.

Previous Work Experience:
As Director of Client Relations & Marketing for Dresdner RCM Global Investors in San Francisco, Terry worked with the Group's Managing Director and CEO to define strategies and oversee operations for institutional, individual, and financial intermediary clients. As Director Of Global Projects for Dresdner RCM, she created and developed a multi-dimensional product/client Profitability System and led the Global Transfer Pricing Project with KPMG. As Dresdner's Global Controller, she led the global integration of the asset management financial and management systems. As Principal & Financial Officer of Investment Services at Barclays Global Investors, she directed development of financial strategic initiatives, budgets, forecasts, and business cases. As a Financial and Business Consultant at Frame Technology Corporation (now Adobe Systems), she advised internal clients on IPO filings, business development, financial analysis, and sales forecasting. As Owner and Operator of Gorin's Homemade, she suggested the franchise concept to the company's founder, purchased first franchise territory, and grew revenue to $1 million. She also developed and expanded retail and manufacturing facilities for her startup franchise operation. As a CPA at KPMG, she worked with agri-business, major insurance companies, and financial institutions. As President of the Board of Directors of SF CASA, Terry led development of a 5-Year Strategic Plan and initiated new fund raising strategies creating $1 million in funding for expansion and new programs. Terry is a Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude graduate of The University of Georgia with a BBA in accounting and a minor in international business.