Steve Blank's third story — 'Failure and Redemption' — was about the most public humiliation of his career. After cofounding or joining the starting team of six successful startups, he became CEO of his seventh: a hot video game company. His picture was in all the business magazines and on the cover of Wired. Life was perfect. Then it all collapsed. They had believed their own press, 'inhaled their own fumes,' and built lousy games. Customers didn't buy, and the company went out of business in a very public way. Blank admitted that while it was tempting to blame others, the failure was mostly the result of his own hubris — 'the evil twin of entrepreneurial passion and drive.' But instead of ending his career, the failure became a learning experience. The two venture capital firms that had lost $12 million on his failed company actually asked him to work with them. The experience ultimately led to the insights that became Customer Development.