SPOTLIGHT YOUR SCREW-UPS. Thanks to F*ckUp Nights, a national movement now coming to Eau Claire, professionals can hang out together in a space open to talking about their epic fails. The first event on March 30 will be held at The Lakely (Photo via The Lakely's Facebook).

We’ve all been there. You, me, your mom, that random person walking down the street, we’ve all made major screw-ups at some point or another. Sometimes, those moments happen in professional life, too. Thanks to F*ckUp Nights, a new series coming to Eau Claire, its organizer is aiming to normalize conversations around f*** ups in the career space.

F*ckUp Nights is a national organization and movement that’s popped up in more than 200 cities, stretching over more than 60 countries. Yeah, the human race really does excel at screwing things up – but we’re also chockfull of perseverance, and sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself and shake it off. This movement is all about learning from those missteps and moving forward, not letting a failure here and there stop you from charging onward.

Lead organizer of Eau Claire’s F*ckUp Nights, Adam Accola, first learned about the movement last year while attending a co-working space conference on behalf of local co-working hub CoLab. CoLab works with a female-led virtual mail management platform out of Puerto Rico, and at their co-working space, F*ckUp Nights are a regular event.

everyone fails, everyone f***S up, and we can talk about it and not feel bad about it.

adam accola

eau claire f*ckUp Nights lead event organizer

Since learning about the movement at the conference, Accola has laid down the groundwork for Eau Claire’s very own F*ckUp series, hoping local professionals from any area of life and career can come together to talk about their epic fails – and successes since then.

“I think in the world of social media we share the positive things happening in all our lives, and that’s pretty much all we ever see – what’s going well,” Accola said. “We’re hoping that these events start the conversation of, everyone fails, everyone f***s up, and we can talk about it and not feel bad about it.”

The first local F*ckUp Nights event is comin’ up this spring on Thursday, March 30, set to tango over at The Lakely in downtown Eau Claire from 7-9pm. Doors open at 6pm with registration now open, and it’s free to RSVP to the opening event.

So, what will happen at the first F*ckUp event? Coming face to face with professional fails, and with locals who can take a humorous spin on them, too.

Accola said each event – which will happen quarterly, or four times a year – will feature three or four speakers, each having seven minutes to share a story from one of their own professional “f*** ups” with the option to use a 10-slide presentation. Each speaker will take a handful of questions after their story, and then the next speaker will step on up.

“Anyone will professional experience is welcome to attend or speak and can definitely get something out of it,” Accola said. “It’s not industry-specific at all or solely focused on entrepreneurs.”

With organizational support from CoLab, and The Lakely team’s support with event logistics and hosting, Accola is hopeful a new community will step out of the woodworks thanks to F*ckUp Nights. He also acknowledges the event's vibe – and colorful title – will really work, or really not, for some people.

Some people might recoil at the word ("f***") but some people might actually lean into it.

adam accola

“One question I’ve gotten since starting this up is, ‘What do you think people are going to say about having the word ‘f***’ in the title?’, and really, that’s exactly what the organizers of this type of movement want,” he explained. “Some people might recoil at the word but some people might actually lean into it; understanding that it may pull in a different audience than we’re used to seeing.”

Accola is still scheduling meetings with people interested in sharing their own f*** ups through the series, and room is still open to attend the series’ first event for now. Head to this ticket site to snag a spot.

Want to speak at a F*ckUp Nights event or have questions? Head to Eau Claire F*ckup Nights’ LinkTree to find out more and connect. Follow the new series on Facebook to keep up with them.