Meet the founder of the Failure Museum, an exclusive collection of swag from companies that went bust

• Norwest partner Sean Jacobsohn started collecting objects from failed businesses a year ago. 
• Since then, he's collected more than 500 items that sit in glass display cases in his office.  
• It's a fun hobby, but it's also helped him understand why businesses and startups fail, he said. 

Sean Jacobsohn fashions himself as something of a "scholar of failure."

By day, the Bay Area venture capitalist at Norwest Venture Partners helps startup founders realize visions for their companies and weather the every day stresses of company building, focusing on early-to-growth-stage enterprise SaaS startups.

But in his free time, Jacobsohn collects artifacts from times when those visions didn't exactly pan out.