Allow young the freedom to fail, says start-up founder in SCMP debate
Hongkongers lacked an acceptance of failure, often not learning from their mistakes, said entrepreneur who found success only at the third attempt.
An entrepreneur who found success only at the third attempt says that for young Hongkongers to succeed in business, there must be room in society to confront and discuss failure.
The question of whether the young generation can succeed in an environment where there seems to be fewer opportunities was discussed in the latest Redefining Hong Kong forum yesterday, organised by the South China Morning Post.
Panellist Rex Sham Pui-sum said Hongkongers lacked an acceptance of failure, often not learning from their mistakes.
Hong Kong's high rents, combined with relatively fewer opportunities compared to the 1980s and 1990s, and a plateauing economy, posed challenges for young people - the city's most well-educated generation.
"Successes are usually not replicable [in another context], but failures are always replicable," said Sham, 30, founder of a robotics firm. Sham said being able to reflect on failures was part of the soft skills needed for young people to do well in society.
Sham's first two start-ups were complete failures, he said. His third venture is the only successful one - and it took years of bootstrapping. Sham's firm created a fire detection robot that can be used in country parks to find and put out small fires.