new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d8ed8b
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+visibility: public-edit
+---
+
+# no backup plan for a failed demo
+
+*(common gotcha)*
+
+## what happened
+
+live demo crashes on stage. team freezes. awkward silence. judges move on.
+
+## why it's a gotcha
+
+live demos fail. wifi goes down, APIs time out, databases crash. if your entire presentation depends on everything working perfectly, you're gambling.
+
+## the fix
+
+record a screen capture of the full demo working beforehand. if the live demo crashes, switch to the video immediately — don't waste time debugging on stage. say "let me show you the recording" and keep moving.
+
+## see also
+
+- [[test-demo-before-presenting]] — reduce the chance of failure
+- [[restart-server-before-demo]] — pre-demo checklist
+- [[emphasize-live-demo]] — the live demo is critical, but have a backup
+- [[it-works-on-my-machine]] — environmental issues cause demo failures
\ No newline at end of file