You can’t have success without failure. Why bankruptcy is important to business.

My Twitter feed is full of tweets suggesting that Trump’s various bankruptcies prove he’s not a good businessman. I couldn’t disagree more. There are so many business risks that would never get taken if there wasn’t an opportunity to fail. The United States bankruptcy code is a powerful business tools — it has allowed a small country with just 4% of the global population to control 40% of the world’s wealth because it allows us to take HUGE risks.

Thousands of companies file bankruptcy each year — the focus of the code is on the continuation of the business for the benefit of society, consumers, employees, and investors. The sort of risks CEO’s must take to succeed are often so great that failure is a relatively likely result. In the startup world (my world) each stakeholder knows from the start that the likelihood of failure is greater than 90%. Without the bankruptcy code no one would dare create Facebook, Uber or Google. Take for example the cautionary tale of Abraham Lincoln.

Early in his career, Lincoln and his partner bought a general store and it ultimately failed. His partner died and his creditors sued him and seized all of his assets — his home, his horse, and his personal property. The bankruptcy code did not exist and as a result he was forced to continue to pay off his debt for much of the rest of his life. Fortunately for America he couldn’t start a new business — instead he freed the slaves. Most entrepreneurs wouldn’t be willing to take their first risk if their first risk might be there last. I’ll let you in on a hint. Lots of entrepreneurs fail on their first attempt — this is obvious, right? Here are a few examples:

Me: my first startup went bankrupt and was reorganized under the bankruptcy code. After reorganization we operated the company for several years and sold it for a 600% return for the shareholders.

Henry Ford: his first car company went bankrupt and was reorganized under the bankruptcy code and became Cadillac. Afterward Ford started the Ford Motor Company.

Walt Disney: his first film company went bankrupt. Five years later he introduced the world to his new film company featuring Mickey Mouse.

Milton Hershey: his first two candy shops failed. Eventually he found success making candy.

H.J. Heinz: his first company made horseradish sauce and went bankrupt. One year later he started a new company making ketchup.

P.T. Barnum: his first real estate company went bankrupt. Several years later he came up with an idea to launch a circus. It worked out.

There are a million reasons not to support Trump, but to suggest that his use of the bankruptcy code four times somehow proves he is a bad businessman is to ignore reality. Be thankful for the bankruptcy code and realize that it is a huge advantage for America — something to be honored.