So, your teen wants to become a top businesspersonmaybe even the next Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and Silicon Valley’s unofficial patron saint of startups? That’s fantastic! Entrepreneurship is the American dream with a modern twist: a laptop, a clever app idea, and a whole lot of caffeine. But before your budding business mogul hits the ground running, there’s a cautionary tale they should hear.

Reid Hoffman didn’t always get it right. In fact, he made plenty of mistakessome of them big enough to shake his confidence. And while mistakes are part of learning, let’s make sure your teen skips the kind that make you slap your forehead and say, “What was I thinking?!” Here’s a lighthearted guide to the lessons Reid Hoffman learned the hard way, so your teen can leapfrog straight to the success part.

Lesson 1: Networking is NOT About Collecting People Like Trading Cards

When Hoffman was building LinkedIn, he envisioned a tool for meaningful connections, not a competition to see who could rack up the most “contacts.” Early on, he realized that genuine relationships matter far more than the number of people in your network.

What Teens Can Learn: Encourage your teen to be authentic in their interactions. Tell them that real networking isn’t about sliding into every Instagram DM with “Let’s collab?” It’s about listening, helping others, and building trust. Quality over quantity, always. Even if they’re just connecting with friends over a group project, teach them to value collaboration, not just outcomes.

Lesson 2: Failure Is a Feature, Not a Bug

Hoffman launched a company before LinkedIn called SocialNet. It was a dating platform that was ahead of its time. Way ahead. It flopped spectacularly, but it taught him invaluable lessons about timing, user needs, and how to pivot when an idea doesn’t work.

What Teens Can Learn: If your teen’s lemonade stand tanks because their secret ingredient was pickle juice, that’s okay! Failure is just an early draft of success. Encourage them to try, fail, learn, and repeat. The world’s top entrepreneurs didn’t get there on their first tryor even their fifth.

Lesson 3: Stay Humble, Even If You’re a Big Deal

Despite his immense success, Hoffman is known for his humility. He credits his achievements to the teams he’s worked with and keeps his ego in check.

What Teens Can Learn: Remind your teen that no one likes a braggart. Even if their app goes viral or they nail their first pitch, teach them to stay grounded. Being likable and relatable opens more doors than arrogance ever could. Plus, humility makes it easier to learn from others and adapta must for any entrepreneur.

Lesson 4: You Don’t Have to Know Everything (Phew!)

Hoffman freely admits that he’s not the best at coding, designing, or marketing. What he’s great at is bringing together the right people to execute a vision.

What Teens Can Learn: Tell your teen they don’t need to be a one-person powerhouse. It’s okay not to know how to code or design a logo perfectly. The key is recognizing their strengths, finding people who complement them, and working together as a team. (Hint: That’s also what group projects are for!)

Lesson 5: Keep Your Eyes on the Big Picture

Hoffman is a master at thinking big. LinkedIn wasn’t about just connecting professionals; it was about redefining how people build their careers and find opportunities.

What Teens Can Learn: While it’s great to start small (yes, even with a lemonade stand), encourage your teen to think about the bigger impact they want to make. Do they want to solve a problem? Make people’s lives easier? Make sure their vision is more than just “make lots of money.” Passion and purpose are what keep successful entrepreneurs going.

Bonus Tip for Parents: Let Them Drive (But Keep an Eye on the Map)

It’s tempting to hover, especially when your kid is dreaming big. But part of becoming a successful entrepreneur is learning how to make decisionsand sometimes mistakeson their own. Support them, cheer them on, but let them steer. (And yes, there’s a good chance they’ll roll their eyes when you say this. It’s part of the journey.)

Wrapping It Up: Build, Break, and Rebuild

Reid Hoffman’s story proves that even the best entrepreneurs stumble before they soar. The key is to learn, adapt, and keep going. Whether your teen wants to create the next social network, launch a business, or just run a lemonade stand without pickle juice (seriously, why?), they’re already on the right path by dreaming big.

So, take a page from Reid Hoffman’s playbook. Encourage your teen to embrace failure, connect meaningfully, and think big. With these lessons under their belt, who knows? They might just be the next big thingand they’ll have the satisfaction of knowing they didn’t have to learn these lessons the hard way.