During those early days of my career, I had one of those “what if” moments that stayed with me for life.
A close friend, Arun, was working on projects with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, exploring ways to simplify medical image processing. During one of our late-night discussions, we stumbled upon an idea:
💡 What if medical professionals had a centralized system to store, analyze, and diagnose patients’ data?
Today, that sounds obvious. But back then, it was bold, futuristic — and far beyond our means.
Still, we were young and fearless. We submitted our idea to HannoverImpuls, a startup incubator in Hannover, Germany. To our surprise, we got picked among 20+ teams to pitch. For three days, we soaked in workshops, networking, and late-night brainstorming.
On pitch day, with Sting’s “Desert Rose” playing in the background (co-incidentally the music band Sting was performing live at Hannover Messe on that very day), we believed we were about to change the world.
But we failed.
❌ We had nothing beyond an idea on paper.
❌ I was stuck with visa renewal challenges.
❌ We lacked the infrastructure and experience to execute.
Eventually, I pivoted — joining another team that was building mobile applications and telecom solutions for media companies, which led me back to India. It was a practical choice with some funding and a roadmap, though not the moonshot we once dreamed of.
Fast forward to 2025. I recently read that AI Doc, a company with a vision strikingly similar to ours, raised $150 million in funding and is backed by the global AI Superpower NVIDIA — link to news.
Did we miss out? Yes.
Was it painful? Absolutely.
But here’s what I learned:
- 🚀 Timing matters as much as vision. An idea before its time often looks like failure.
- 🔑 Execution beats imagination. Ideas are cheap, execution is everything.
- 🌍 Life is not fair — but it’s still a journey worth playing. Privileges, biases, and circumstances shape outcomes, but persistence opens new doors.
Looking back, I don’t just see failure. I see a seed planted too early — one that others have now cultivated into reality. And that’s okay. Because sometimes, failure today is just a reminder to fail another day — but smarter, stronger, and with more clarity.
👉 What’s your “Fail Another Day” story? The one that still makes you wonder: What if?
💡 I’m an entrepreneur and business growth consultant based in Canada. If this story resonates with you and you have bold ideas to change the world, reach out — I’d love to connect and brainstorm. Who knows? That conversation could spark the next big thing.
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