Jan. 15, 2021
Credit.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Of all the myths we have about America, perhaps the most potent one is found in the age-old question we constantly ask ourselves as a nation: Can we start over?
It’s a concept at the heart of tech, whose entrepreneurs hold on to the unshakable idea that even in the worst dregs of failure there is an opportunity to push the restart button, opening up new and dazzling possibilities.
I can’t tell you the number of times in my long career covering technology that I have been on the receiving end of the quote by Thomas Edison that entrepreneurs drag out when their start-up has crashed: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”