How many times have we heard the adage “Try and try until you succeed.”? Does this matter when doing business?

Many entrepreneurs, particular startups, are leaning heavily on this dictum. Far beyond feasibility studies and market data watch, entrepreneurial wannabes with no formal business education or no managerial experience whatsoever have to rely on their instinct and survival skills to keep their ideas going. The same people are also known to handle business on their own, directly learning from what is happening on the ground. Hence, the era of learn-on-the-job mentality came into fruition.

Others, however, debate about the effect of the trial-and-error approach to business. These old-school entrepreneurs believe in systemizing and controlling everything. While the concept of systematic entrepreneurship is known to have produced successful ventures, it cannot be denied that some have also veered into the rollercoaster ride of the trial-and-error approach. This is even amid the upsurge of smart data as well as analytics opportunities available for businesses nowadays.

But the trial-and-error learning is a long-time approach used in businesses. While other entrepreneurs may very well deny leaning on this approach, it cannot be refuted that there are just certain matters about running a venture that will push one to try without the aid of data or analytics, or for the sake of knowing if it will work or not. This is precisely the reason why some products and services in the market have to be updated every now and then.

Millennial business startups are also more engaged with the trial-and-error learning approach as they continue to drive for changes in the business arena. Amid their MBAs, extensive market research capabilities, and circle of experienced mentors, these go-getters rely on their gut feeling on various entrepreneurial pursuits. They love to innovate and one way of testing such fresh ideas is to try.

Yes, it is risky. It is not fun noting the fact that one’s whole life savings or credibility is on the line. But like other entrepreneurial geniuses who have tried and failed 99 times and only to hit it big on the 100th time, the concept of trial-and-error is one that can make or break one’s business pursuits. Persistence, it seems, is the very key that can unravel the meat of the matter. Like growing tulips, businesses that engage in trial-and-error plant their ideas on the ground hoping against hope that the chill of winter will not prevent the colorful bulbs from blooming when spring comes.

Indeed, the trial-and-error approach is far from becoming obsolete. Many successful entrepreneurs still live by the tale of trying and learning along the way. The only challenge for many robust businesses is this—how to keep up. It must be noted that the rules kept on changing. By the time an entrepreneur already managed to learn how to run a business, another challenge crops up.  So, it is essential to never stop trying and learning—a never-ending cycle that makes the business arena truly meaningful and exhilarating.