Nothing Succeeds Like—Failure?
By Julia Keller, Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, July 30, 2000

Responding to tales of gargantuan losses in Internet ventures that seemed, perversely, to enhance the reputations of those involved, essayist Louis Menand has observed, "Failure is, like, part of the business plan."

The tales are legion: Jeff Bezos, founder of online bookseller amazon.com, could have been the poster boy for the new failure. His company lost an estimated $350 million in 1999—and Bezos was named Time's person of the year.

More proof of failure's buzzworthiness could be found in the spate of cool movies glamorizing confused losers and hapless also-rans, such as American Beauty and Fight Club. David Letterman's rejuvenated popularity rests heavily upon his tales of chronic failure. And last week, Failure magazine—www.failuremag.com—was launched on the Web, featuring links to purchase FailureWear—caps, mugs, tote bags and T-shirts adorned with the word "Failure."

The nation is basking in unprecedented prosperity. What better time, Jason Zasky asked himself, for an online magazine about failure?

"Things have been taken to the extreme in success in recent years. Failure doesn't really get the respect it deserves," Zasky said from his office in Scarsdale, N.Y., where he was putting the finishing touches on www.failuremag.com.

"Failure is usually treated in a predictable way, either negatively or ironically. It's not interesting."

But can it be lucrative?

Zasky and his cofounder, Kathleen Ervin, hope so. Their magazine, financed by ad sales, includes interviews with people who have endured failure; lists of notable failures; a feature called "This Day in Failure" (July 18, for example, was the anniversary of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's 1969 car accident in Chappaquiddick); and interactive elements such as polls on which of the week's new movies is most likely to bomb.

"The key lies in our approach," Zasky said. "We don't judge people. We don't critique. We don't make failure a personal issue."

Highlights of this week's edition include an article about the "most monumental failure of the millennium"—in the author's opinon, the Arab loss at the Battle of Tours in 732 A.D.—and a sweet essay on the demise of the drive-in movie.

True to Zasky's word, his magazine isn't nasty or irony-flecked. It's well-crafted and informative. But even Web sites with great content—such as salon.com—are in financial trouble. How does Zasky plan to keep his project from becoming a punch line—the failure of Failure?

"Our approach has been to not spend an inordinate amount of money up front," he said. Other on-line ventures have engaged in high-profile IPOs (initial public offerings), selling stock and getting too big too fast.

He doesn't want Failure to go public, Zasky said, until he's sure it can go, period.

This article appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, July 30, 2000
Copyright © 2000 Philadelphia Inquirer.