In an effort to reduce the stigma attached to failure, the Pond-Deshpande Centre at the University of New Brunswick has launched the region’s first Failure Fund.

The idea is that entrepreneurs who give an idea their best shot and come up short (read: most entrepreneurs) should be encouraged to give it another try. In fact, the thinking is that entrepreneurs gain so much valuable experience in managing an unsuccessful business that the region gains by having these people running businesses again.

So the Pond-Deshpande Centre, which encourages social entrepreneurship as well as traditional business formation, has started a fund that will entice people to start another business after the first or second has failed.

"Failure is an essential part of innovation and therefore as a stakeholder in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the PDC has a responsibility to walk the talk,” said Executive Director Karina LeBlanc.  “We are celebrating failure by rewarding and recognizing those entrepreneurs who have tried, failed and are ready to try again."

The centre now awards a total of $200,000 to $250,000 each year to young companies, divided among the Social Innovation Fund, Technology Ignition Fund, Student Catalyst Fund and now the Failure Fund.  LeBlanc said the total amounts awarded in each category depend on numbers of quality applicants.

For the Failure Fund, the awards will range from about $5,000 to $15,000 – just enough to help out with the initial phases.

She added that these awards are grants, not loans. But she added: “We have a pay-it-forward clause which asks the entrepreneur upon accepting the award, that should they be successful, that they will contribute their time and treasure to the PDC.”

The Failure Fund grants will be awarded twice a year. The application deadlines close Jan. 31 and then again on July 31.