The first startup I joined, Blanketware, lasted five years, which is a lifetime in the scheme of things. Looking back, the company, which developed natural-language navigation technology to make it easy for people to do things online, should have been allowed to die after a couple of years when it became apparent that success was proving elusive.

But startups are difficult “lovers” to give up on after all the time, effort and money invested. As much as it is becomes obvious an idea has failed to resonate, entrepreneurs also believe there are better things around the corner.

While optimism reigns eternal, it’s not always a positive thing if it means keep something alive that should respectfully die.

This reality struck home with the news that Sprouter, the social network for entrepreneurs, was not closing its doors on Aug. 3 as it previously announced. Instead, “a few of the potential parties that have come forward offering to keep the service going”.

While this is obviously encouraging news for Sprouters’ founders and investors, you wonder if its possible resuscitation is a good thing. After all, Sprouter struggled to find a way to make money despite building a strong brand. At the end of the day, if a company can’t make money, it shouldn’t exist so people and money can move on to things with better prospects.

To paraphrase the Clash, the conundrum now facing Sprouter  is deciding whether it “should it should stay or should it go now”. If it stays, it means pulling in enough money to give it time to discover a business model. If it decides to go now, it means calling it a day, and moving on. Either way, it’s a difficult decision.

While we like to celebrate the successes of startups – the acquisitions, the large investment rounds, etc. – there aren’t a lot of stories that put the spotlight on failures unless they are spectacular. As I mentioned in a recent Globe & Mail column, there is as much to learn from failure as success.

Sprouter is a rare instance in which a startup’s failure captured a lot of attention. But its struggles are just a tip of the iceberg when you consider the high fatality rate of startups.