Millionaire Failures And What To Learn From Them

Even The Most Successful Fail

We see their names in the press – whether for their success, personal life updates, drama, and more – but we never hear about the failures that these businessmen and women have had in the past that allowed each one of them to build their name and brand to what it is today. In business we sometimes forget to tell ourselves that everyone makes mistakes. It is okay to mess up. Nothing is perfect. With each mistake, we grow from it and become better. These encouraging words have left the business industry, but I think it is time to bring them back. Messing up is okay! If no one messed up, the world would be synonymous – everything would be perfect, and that isn’t fun is it?

To bring us back into reality, I want to highlight 5 successful celebrities that have found their path to success, but with bumps in the road along the way. The overall message – don’t give up. If one business venture doesn’t succeed; keep trying. Don’t give up. Learn from it and create something better! In this blog, Hollywood Branded discusses 5 celebrities and their failed business launches.

The Kardashians

The most famous family in world – worth collectively over $2 billion – have had their bumps along the way; and no, I am not talking about their personal life drama and controversies. The Kardashian’s – Kris, Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Kendall, Kylie, and Rob – are more than just your A-list celebrities, they are truly business people with the desire to constantly test, innovate, and start their own businesses. However, one that people tend to forget about (and that was a massive failure) was the Kardashian Kard By MasterCard.

The Kardashian Kard was a prepaid debit card that people could pay $99.95 to acquire. However, the Kard was loaded with fees – one of the reasons that drew negative press to the business venture and the ultimate decline of the Kard.

According to Insider, the monthly fee to have the Kardashian Kard was $7.95, $6 to close the card, and tacked on a $2 fee if a customer was trying to pay any type of bill with it. The issue here – the Kard was catered towards young adults who were fans of the Kardashians, but didn’t understand the meaning of all the fees and logistics with debit cards.

In fact a Connecticut-based attorney, Richard Blumenthal, wrote a letter to MasterCard stating that the card was targeted and taking advantage of “vulnerable young adults and teens.”

With all the bad press around the Kard, Kourtney, Khloe, and Kim parted ways with this failed business venture. However, at the time of the separation, the card only had 250 active users – so you pick what the real reason was for the termination of this partnership between the Kardashians and MasterCard.

Source: Google Images

Nicky Hilton

You would think that with the last name  ‘Hilton,’ it would be a simple and natural venture to go after the hospitality industry! For Nicky Hilton, however, her solo venture turned out to be a not-so-successful one with her failed hotel line, ‘Nicky O Hotels.’

According to TMZ, in 2006 Nicky purchased two Miami condominium properties, the Breakwater and the Edison, that were going to be converted into beachfront hotels.

So what happened to these hotels? Well, Nicky Hilton got sued by a Chicago-based development group, Robert Falor Investments, citing breach of contract like promotional delays as well as contracting out interior design work that Nicky was supposed to do.

Source: Google Images

Kanye West

Now, you wouldn’t think that Kanye would have had a fashion flaw in the past, right? Well, in fact he did. But don’t get me wrong, this was before the massive success of his Yeezy Brand. Just think though, with this failure and what he learned from it, Kanye probably wouldn’t have created the brand that Yeezy is today.

Before Yeezy, Kanye released his first clothing line, Pastelle, in 2009. However, the caveat is that after being online for only two days, the brand was pulled from all websites and an announcement came that the line would not be launching.

Complex cited the day after the launch that "'Kanye West’s Pastelle Line Shall Never Grace the Bodies of the General Public.' By Fall 2009, post-Taylor Swift MTV VMAs fiasco, West took a hiatus from the media spotlight and even canceled his Fame Kills Tour with Lady Gaga.”

Source: Google Images

Lessons Learned

Even with failed business ventures, the above celebrities are known as some of the most successful (and wealthy) individuals not just in Hollywood, but in the world of business. Highlighting their businesses that did not pick-up is not to stir the pot or bring awareness to a “failed” business, but rather to emphasize that everyone fails. Everyone makes mistakes. It shouldn’t be something to stress over. Imagine if Kanye’s Pastelle line wasn’t a failure – and he never learned from this – Yeezy may not have been the massive success that it is today.

If you have an idea for a business, pursue it. There is nothing wrong with developing your dream idea and seeing what happens. But, if it fails – don’t fret. Pivot. Adjust. And see the results.

If you want to learn more about celebrity businesses, check out other blogs written by our team:

• The Success Of Celebrity-Founded Brands
• 15 Musician-Owned Brands That Everyone Needs To Know
• 3 New Celebrity Alcohol Brands: Just In Time For Summer
• Celebrities Using Their Own Platforms To Build Their Brands