Failure Club

What is Failure Club at Mothership HackerMoms

Failure Club is the most popular offering at Mothership HackerMoms because it represents community, support, collaboration and the messiness that goes with pursuing our own passions while also being a parent. We gather weekly to embrace failure and move through personal goals surrounded by kickass people who support, inspire, witness, motivate and help us show up even when we fail. For many of us, our Failure Club community and experiences profoundly change every aspect of our lives.

Failure Club stretches and evolves depending on who joins.

Craving Community? We’re wherever you are!

Most Failure Clubs take place on Zoom.

Want to sign up? Book a short call with a current member to chat.

In the last several years, we’ve been expanding our offerings. Because of the pandemic and the specific individuals who have participated, our Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10am offer the more classic version that is steeped in emotional support when people can bring ANY KIND OF PROJECT and sometimes people don’t necessarily have formal 12-week goals.

Failure Clubs sometimes converge on a specific theme or type of people. 

  • On Tuesdays at 7pm, we have a group for moms who are starting businesses, nonprofits, websites
  • Thursdays at 7pm is for Writers’ Failure Club

We wish you the courage to fail, recover and start again.

How it works

We commit to meeting the same time each week for a series of Failure Club. Series run either 8 or 12 weeks and often people will meet during flex weeks.

  • You choose one project with a measurable outcome (or something more amorphous if that’s what you’re going for).
  • We start with one minute of silence to gather ourselves to be fully present for ourselves and for each other.
  • Each person has five to seven uninterrupted minutes to update the group (depending on group size and time constraints). You share progress, roadblocks, next steps, and tell the group what feedback is most helpful. You can identify what kind of feedback you want, whether that’s getting cheerleading, advice, recommendations, referrals or general comments.
  • We take five minutes to provide feedback in the form of cheerleading, advice, recommendations, referrals or general comments.

We each try to fail at it in a big way (with our kids in tow). We become each other’s cheerleaders, reality checks, and shoulders to cry on, because we must really, really try, and for that we depend on our tribe to sustain us. We share our personal networks of contacts, wisdom, and resources. We adopt design thinking: to fail early and often, to test what works and observe what happens (and what we feel).

We create a rhythm in weekly sprints.

Choosing your project

Personal growth is a constant theme, and we center each round of Failure Club on one project or concept. While some of us are tackling our life’s dreams, some of us have projects that are less about risks and more reflective of the stages of our lives and of our kids. The examples below are not meant to limit your imagination. Big projects can span multiple rounds of Failure Club, and your “project” will be a three-month milestone.

We find that “simple” or manageable projects are often profoundly meaningful and difficult to achieve. Because we are our authentic selves when we come to Failure Club, we bring our fears, our health, our families, our careers into the discussion and a 12-week goal may be a regular part of your life.

We embrace all sorts of projects

  • Revel in art
  • Discover what’s important to me
  • Exercise three times a week
  • Explore new careers, hobbies, values
  • Start a regular meditation practice
  • Remodel a home
  • Move cross-country
  • Hack parenthood
  • Figure out the next step
  • Discover new companies in your field
  • Re-organize closets

Early in the history of Failure Club, we encouraged people to choose risky projects that were seemingly impossible and terrifying. These kinds of giant high-risk projects are always welcome. 

  • Change careers
  • Write a book
  • Make art
  • Produce a film
  • Start a business
  • Learn a new field
  • Invent products

Join Failure Club During These Days and Times

While there are official series, we occasionally allow people to join in the middle. If you would like to sit in for one day, let us know.

Times Are Based on California

  • Tuesdays 7pm for new businesses, nonprofits, websites
  • Wednesdays 10am
  • Thursdays 7pm for writers
  • Saturdays 10am

Upcoming Dates

Our calendar is loosely aligned to the school year and may change. Dates will be finalized during the first session of each series.

On Tuesdays at 7pm, for new businesses, nonprofits, websites

  • *Visitors Invited* August 11, 2026 *Bonus Session*
  • August 18, 2026 to October 6, 2026 (8 weeks)
  • October 20, 2026 to December 15, 2026 (8 weeks)

On Wednesdays

  • *Visitors Invited* August 12, 2026 *Bonus Session*
  • August 19, 2026 to October 7, 2026 (8 weeks)
  • October 21, 2026 to December 16, 2026 (8 weeks)

On Thursdays, Writers Failure Club

  • *Visitors Invited* August 13, 2026 *Bonus Session*
  • August 20, 2026 to October 8, 2026 (8 weeks)
  • October 22, 2026 to December 17, 2026 (8 weeks)

On Saturdays

  • *Visitors Invited* Aug 15, 2026 *Bonus Session*
  • August 22, 2026 to October 10, 2026 (8 weeks)
  • October 24, 2026 to December 19, 2026 (8 weeks)

Cost

Failure Club is included in the Mothership HackerMom membership, which requires an application process. If membership isn’t a good fit for you or if we’re at capacity, you can also choose Failure Club on its own:

  • $275 for 12-week series if paid in advance, $185 for 8-week series
  • Email if interested in a sliding scale

JOIN FAILURE CLUB

If interested, book a short call with a current member to chat.

How to be an excellent Failure Club participant

Over the years, we have developed a supportive tone that we want to preserve. Together, we create a safe, respectful space. Being vulnerable, daring, and authentic happens when people are kind.

  • Please come on time and stay for the length of the meeting whenever possible. 
  • Everything shared in this group should be considered private information. By entering into this group, you agree to protect the privacy of your fellow group members.
  • We aim for a supportive, affirming tone.
  • We prefer asking gentle questions to help people think through their own perspective.
  • Speak to everyone as if they are a friend.
  • We refrain from solving people’s problems or lecturing.
  • We challenge each other and push hard when that’s what is asked for.
  • No interrupting. 
  • Pay attention to what people are saying. This includes learning their pronouns and reflecting the terms people use to refer to themselves. 
  • You’re invited to use the Zoom chat for asides, helpful reactions, and quoting someone to help document something noteworthy that was said. If you feel inclined to interrupt or don’t get a chance to talk, put your comments in the chat.