Laughing at failure: Event embraces the humanity in mistakes

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — You might hear a lot of people talking about their professional successes — but how often do people talk about when they royally messed up? That’s what Bahaa Chmait and Chris Federer have been working to change with F—up Nights (FuN).

At these TED-talk-style events, three or four people present their own experiences where they made mistakes, or times they “f—’d up”, to a room full of strangers. Chmait said the stories can have quite a range — from start-ups that have gone bust, or business deals that have gone sour. But the one thing they have in common: it’s a safe place to talk about it.

Loveland Aquarium’s penguin dating series ‘Love on Thin Ice’ attracts large TikTok following

“We are looking to destigmatize failure and re-frame what failure is,” Chmait said. “Oftentimes, we see the successes, but the failures, we take on in embarrassment and we keep them to ourselves. There’s so much we can learn from our failures just by sharing them.”

Chmait explained that FuN was an idea that originally started in Mexico and has spread globally, with hundreds of cities now hosting these events. Chmait and Federer, professional facilitators and co-hosts of the SLC events, knew they had to bring FuN to Utah, especially with the strong entrepreneurial spirit the state has.

The success shows itself. Both FuN nights at Edison House, one in November and one being held Thursday, March 14, sold out.

Not only does the audience get the chance to listen to speakers, but also to engage with others and admit their failures. Each event starts with icebreakers, ends with a social mixer, and features a sticky note wall where people can write down their mistakes, opening the conversation on a topic people may normally feel ashamed about.

“We did a debrief at the end of the last one, asking what would you tell people who didn’t come to this event, they started sharing their failure stories saying how freeing it is to have a platform to share these things,” Chmait said.

Because of the popularity of the FuN events, Chmait said they’re currently exploring larger venues going forward. If you want to share your own experiences at an upcoming FuN event, you can sign up here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.