Fayl Tales
Behind every startup success story is a trail of mistakes, pivots, broken plans and brilliant comebacks.
Fayl Tales is the podcast where entrepreneurs, founders, investors and early employees share the real side of building something new - the failures that shaped them, the lessons they learned the hard way, and the resilience it takes to keep going.
Hosted by Loveth, each episode dives into the raw, funny and honest moments most business stories leave out - so you can learn faster, fail smarter, and feel less alone on your own journey.
Follow the show for weekly conversations that prove: failure isn’t the end, it’s part of the story.
Fayl Tales
Why Great Startups Still Fail: Timing, Trust, and Knowing What to Do 'Properly'
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What actually kills startups? Sometimes it’s not product… it’s timing.
In this episode, I’m joined by Alan Jones: angel investor, startup mentor, ex-founder, and co-manager at M8 Ventures (backing early-stage tech across Australia & New Zealand). Alan’s also the host of Pick My Brain, where founders pitch live and get the kind of feedback that’s equal parts practical and slightly brutal.
We talk about:
- why timing is the variable no one can control (and why it quietly decides so many outcomes)
- Alan’s “life is a side-scrolling shooter” metaphor (and why it’s weirdly accurate for careers + startups)
- what he looks for in early-stage founders — and the red flags that make him pause
- why he says he likes to invest in time (not just money), and how relationship-building scales… until it doesn’t
- why diverse teams are often more resilient than “perfect” monoculture founder duos
- the balance founders need: what to do carefully vs what can be tested fast and messy
- a classic story of moving fast… and sending the wrong cover letters (painful, hilarious, and a real lesson)
If you’re building in a world where AI is speeding everything up — this one will make you rethink what you can control, what you can’t, and how to keep moving anyway.
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