Your startup will take everything you give to it. Make it count | Yan Simard | TEDxUNB

Quick Overview

Yan Simard argues that resistance to change, often manifested as passive-aggressive behavior or outright opposition, is a critical factor leading to startup failure, emphasizing that founders must actively seek out and address this resistance rather than ignoring it, as the startup will ultimately consume all resources invested if this fundamental human element is neglected.

Key Points: Simard, a seasoned entrepreneur with 15 years of experience, spoke at TEDxUNB on January 15, 2026, regarding startup failure. He asserts that resistance to change—whether passive-aggressive behavior or direct opposition from employees, customers, or even family—is a major reason startups fail. Founders often focus solely on technology (software/hardware) or business problems, neglecting the human element of change resistance. Simard recounts an anecdote where a manufacturing client required his smart-glass company to undergo security audits and forced onboarding training for their industrial workers, citing an external protest as the reason. Simard warns that if founders do not proactively address this resistance, the startup will consume all invested time and resources without achieving success. He concludes that embracing and digging for change resistance is crucial for startups aiming to make a real difference.

Context: The speaker, Yan Simard, an entrepreneur with 15 years in the field, delivers a talk at TEDxUNB about the often-overlooked cause of startup failure: resistance to change. He frames this resistance as something founders must actively seek out and manage, contrasting it with the typical focus on technical aspects like product development or securing funding.

Detailed Analysis

Yan Simard explains that the primary reason many tech startups fail is not a lack of funding or a poor product idea, but rather the failure to proactively manage inherent change resistance. Having spent 15 years as an entrepreneur, Simard notes that founders often focus too narrowly on the technology (software/hardware) or the core problem they are solving, overlooking the human reaction to change. He illustrates this with a story of his company, which developed smart glasses for industrial workers; a prospective client mandated security audits and extensive training for their employees, claiming an external protest was the cause. Simard realized the resistance was actually directed at him and his company's introduction of new technology. He stresses that resistance manifests in many ways, from passive-aggressive behavior to full-on opposition, and if founders do not actively seek out and address this friction, the startup will inevitably consume all invested resources without succeeding. He concludes by stating that embracing and digging for this resistance is essential for any startup hoping to create real, positive change.