Norwest Venture Partners’ Sean Jacobsohn, a venture capitalist day, has embarked on a unique collecting endeavor. He’s fashioned himself as a “scholar of failure,” building an extensive museum of items from failed business ventures and other flop-related memorabilia.
Jacobsohn started his collection a year ago and has since amassed over 500 artifacts that sit in glass display cases in his office. The collection features products from failed companies, discontinued toy lines, and even freebies from events that turned into collector’s items.
In addition to being a sports memorabilia collector, Jacobsohn, who is a longtime sports fan, was inspired to start his museum after the Golden State Warriors game where he received a bobblehead of Jordan Poole sponsored the failing FTX. That freebie sparked his interest and led to the inception of his Failure Museum.
The Failure Museum, as dubbed Jacobsohn, has a dedicated website to detail every item in the collection, which includes rare pieces like the Pets.com puppet mascot, the failed Harley Davidson cologne, and even an unopened champagne bottle from Webvan’s 1999 IPO celebration.
About one-third of his collection focuses on tech and startups, with artifacts like a Theranos lab coat, and unopened champagne bottles from Webvan’s 1999 IPO. The collector has also seen donations and purchases from eBay, ensuring the representation of significant tech news stories of the day, complete with valuable collectibles such as the WeWork summer camp koozie and mug.
Jacobsohn shares advice and lessons about business failure on the Norwest blog and has received contacts from founders and former company employees, leading to an expanded network. He even has plans to share his insights with Harvard Business School students in the future.
The Failure Museum continues to expand, and there’s no telling what startup-branded item Jacobsohn will add next. So, for founders seeking to connect, holding on to startup relics might just be a smart move.