rmullins@tampatrib.com

Published: February 13, 2010

Before starting a small project called Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales failed over and over again.

Three times he failed to start successful enterprises, Wales himself confessed in a presentation to the TEDx conference in Tampa, a local offshoot of the more established TED conferences in California.

Wales still maintains a home in the Tampa Bay area, and he talked (via Skype because he was stuck in Washington with the snow) on the topic of failure to about 100 attendees who received invitations to TEDx.

Unlike business conferences, TED-like events focus audiences on one presenter at a time, sometimes a researcher or entrepreneur, an artist or activist.

“We started this here out of a selfish desire to make Tampa Bay a better place,” said Peter Kageyama, one of the event organizers. “One person like me can’t do it alone. the only way is to enlist thousands of other people who want to do cool, innovative stuff. get them together, educate, inspire and turn them loose.”

Wales talked of being a financial trader in Chicago in 1996 and trying to start an Internet service that connected downtown lunchers with area restaurants. “The result was failure,” he said. “In 1996, restaurant owners looked at me like I was from Mars.”

Then he tried starting a search engine company called Three Apes. In three months, it was taken over by Chinese hackers. the project failed.

Then he tried an online encyclopedia called Newpedia, a free encyclopedia created by paid experts. he spent $250,000 for writers to make 12 articles. it failed.

Then he had a “really dumb idea,” a free encyclopedia written by anyone who wanted to contribute. that became Wikipedia, which is now one of the top 10 most-popular Web sites in the world.

But proving that failure still stalks every entrepreneur. Wales tried starting a new search engine based on Wikipedia themes. it got huge attention, with some saying it would rival or doom Google.

“Result, failure,” Wales said. Not enough money and an economic downturn. it shut in just over a year.

A new project has Wales’ interest now, a way for people to build their own virtual libraries, and Wales said its traffic rivals the New York Times Web site.

This leads to Wales’ theories of failure:

•1) Fail faster. If a project is doomed, shut it down quickly.

•2) Don’t tie your ego to any one project. If it stumbles, you’ll be unable to move forward.

•3) Real entrepreneurs fail.

•4) Fail a lot. but enjoy yourself along the way.

•5) If you handle these things well, “you will succeed.”

Other presenters included Paul Schnitzler, a technology executive and professor at the University of South Florida. he spoke on how companies can successfully implement change by including those people whose jobs will be changed at every stage of the process – a proven method, he said, that few companies ever employ.

Elizabeth Davis spoke on her work building the Akilah Institute for Women, a school in Rwanda that trains women to work and lead the growing hospitality industry. she spoke on how that country is recovering from genocide.

Intellectual property lawyer Brent Britton spoke on how the most successful companies now focus on making their employees and customers delightfully happy, as a business model.

Conservation photographer Carlton Ward spoke on his work documenting landscapes and people across the globe, including the cattle ranching communities that have been working in Florida for several centuries.

Peter Taylor, founder of Wood Fired Pizza, spoke on his transition from a technology executive to a pizza enthusiast.

For information, visit

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Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.