Of course it's recoverable. If you're under 35 you can join the miliary as well. There are options. Not glamorous, but survivable. Better to have tried and failed than to never have tried.
But when you're an Italian who can't speak English or out west in the late 1800s, it was a case of with your shield or on it.
Failing at your startup would at most be equal to losing your job. You won't die just because of that.
Even if you end up in debt, there are insolvency laws. You can just go flipping burgers for a couple of years and be good.