Who Died on This Road?
These companies raised billions. They still crashed. Our experts would have caught the cracks before the market did.
Jawbone
Raised $930M · Died 2017
Single-source supplier for custom Bluetooth chips. When the supplier failed QA, Jawbone had zero alternatives. $930M couldn't fix a supply chain SPOF.
Bus Factor applies to suppliers, not just people. One vendor = one point of failure.
Quibi
Raised $1.75B · Died 2020
Built for 'in-between moments' that don't exist. Assumed people want 10-minute episodes on phones. People already have TikTok, Instagram, YouTube. No one asked for this format.
Your 'innovation' might be solving a problem no one has. Validate the job-to-be-done before the product.
Homejoy
Raised $40M · Died 2015
Cleaning service with 1099 contractors. Good cleaners left (platform took too much). Bad cleaners stayed. Quality collapsed. CAC spiraled. The delivery chain had no controllable execution node.
If you don't control the quality of your core deliverable, your business is a reputation time bomb.
Essential (Andy Rubin)
Raised $330M · Died 2020
Sold a 'bezel-less phone' to tech enthusiasts. Enthusiasts care about ecosystem, not bezels. iPhone users had iMessage, AirPods, Apple Watch. A single hardware feature can't overcome ecosystem lock-in.
If you're competing against an ecosystem with a feature, you've already lost. Compete on a different axis or don't compete.
Theranos
Raised $700M · Died 2018
Promised 200+ tests from a finger prick. Physics says you can't. Instead of saying 'this is hard, let's start with 5 tests,' they faked the data. The tech was sci-fi, not engineering.
If your core technology requires violating known physics, it's not a startup — it's fraud. Score your tech honestly at the feasibility stage.