Learning from the mistakes of 100 IT startups. Part 1

We translated and adapted a selection of stories about IT startups who were forced to stop their activities. Analysis of errors in their work will help you prepare for possible difficulties in the path of your own business. In the first part you are waiting for the stories and founders of the first 50 companies.

Cryptine

• Information security service;
• Closed in 2006 due to lack of understanding on the board of directors;
• The founder of the service spoke about his findings.

Bitpass

• Online deposits and micropayments;
• Closed in January 2007 due to a number of weaknesses in the business model;
• The founder of the service discussed the situation with the closure of the project.

Backfence

• Online sites for local communities;
• Closed in July 2007 due to difficulties with the development of the project;
• Interview with the founder of the company after the suspension of work on the project.

Nouncer

• Microblogging service;
• Closed in April 2008 due to insufficient attention to the product and its audience;
• The founder of the startup detailed the reasons for the unfortunate development of events.

Kiko

• Online calendar;
• Closed in May 2008 due to slow development and lack of concentration on key aspects;
• Conclusions made by the founder of the project.

Meetro

• Messenger based on geolocation;
• Closed in May 2008 due to a shortage of a critical mass of service audience;
• The founder of the startup shared his story and his conclusions.

Bricabox

• Personalization of content based on social graph;
• Closed in June 2008 due to excessive attention to the technological aspects of the service;
• The founder of the startup spoke about the results of the project.

Monitor110

• Service for collecting and processing data;
• Closed in July 2008 due to insufficient development of the marketing component of the project;
• A story about the lessons learned from the work on the service of its founder .

Diffle

• Social network based on flash-games;
• Closed in December 2008 - at a certain stage the development of the idea just stopped;
• The founder of the startup shared a brief history of the project.

Overto

• Auction aggregator;
• Closed in January 2009 due to lack of competence in the chosen field;
• The founder of the startup gave a more detailed description of the reasons for the unsuccessful development of the project.

Playcafe

• Community of fans of online gaming broadcasts;
• Closed in April 2009 due to a shortage of a critical mass of users;
• Notes based on the startup failure history and the profile of one of the founders.

Lookery

• Social Network Targeting;
• Closed in April 2009 - excessive dependence on third-party platforms;
• The history of the project and the profile of one of the founders.

Findory

• Service for notes with location;
• Closed in November 2009 due to under-teaming;
• The founder of the startup shared the story of the project in 15 posts.

Eventveue

• Online communities for conference attendees;
• Closed in February 2010 due to the weak development of hypotheses for possible development;
• Profile of the founder of a startup.

SMSnoodle

• An entertaining SMS channel for Singaporeans;
• Closed in March 2010 due to revaluation of the market sector;
• The founder told about 4 main mistakes made in the work on the project.

Devver

• Development of "cloud" services;
• Closed in April 2010 due to excessive concentration on the technological component;
• Conclusions and profile of one of the project mentors.

Certtime

• Timestamping service for designers;
• Closed in November 2010 due to erroneous positioning for a narrow circle of specialists;
• The story of the service and the profile of one of the founders.

eCrowds

• CMS with integrated community;
• Closed in June 2010 - too long work without collecting user feedback;
• The history of the project through the eyes of one of the founders and the profile of the second.

YouCastr

• Monetization online video;
• Closed in June 2010 - the founders did not find the motivation to work in the chosen field;
• The founder shared a story about the history of a startup.

Riotvine

• Guide on activities with social functions;
• Closed in August 2010 due to lack of revenue;
• The history of a startup through the eyes of one of the founders.

NewsTilt

• Platform for journalists;
• Closed in September 2010 due to the founders' lack of interest in journalism;
• The founder of the startup cited the reasons for the closure of the project.

Wesabe

• Service for personal budget planning;
• Closed in October of 2010 - short-term planning with the help of other services turned out to be preferable;
• The founder of the startup spoke about the work on the project.

Standout jobs

• Recruitment portal;
• Closed in October 2010 - the team was unable to independently develop the first version of the product;
• The history of a startup from one of the founders and the profile of the second.

HelloParking

• Service for booking parking spaces;
• Closed in August 2011 due to too rare communication with the project audience;
• The founder of the startup reflects on the mistakes and conclusions.

My favorite

• Service for online bookmarks;
• Closed in July 2010 due to too much cost;
• A story from one of the founders and a profile of the second.

Plancast

• Service to discuss events;
• Closed in January 2012 - the lack of regular replenishment of materials by users;
• Analysis of the history with this startup and the profile of one of the founders.

Bellstrike

• Website Design for non-profit organizations;
• Closed in June 2012 due to low incomes per client;
• The founder shared his conclusions on the results of the work on the project.

Parceld

• Service for choosing the style of clothing;
• Closed in November 2012 due to the departure of the process director;
• Parsing errors with the founder of a startup.

Gowalla

• Service to discuss travel;
• Closed in February 2013 due to the emergence of a more effective product from competitors;
• The founder published the story of his project.

Vitoto

• Create videos with friends using a smartphone;
• Closed in February 2013 — the founders did not pay due attention to key aspects of the project;
• Report and company profile .

Formspring

• User profiling based on answers to thematic questions;
• Closed in March 2013 due to unsuccessful sharing of subscriptions to user content;
• The story of one of the founders and the profile of the second.

Zillionears

• A platform for working with an audience of musicians;
• Closed in April 2013 - lack of interest in the product from its target audience;
• The founder of the service spoke about the history of his startup.

Groupspaces

• Community management platform;
• Closed in April 2013 due to insufficient development of the marketing component;
• The founder of the startup analyzes the reasons for the closure of the project.

On-q-ity

• Tools for medical diagnostics;
• Closed in April 2013 due to insufficient funding;
• The history of the project and the profile of one of the founders.

Totsy

• Flash sites for teenagers and young mothers;
• Closed in May 2013 due to too high level of expenses;
• The story of the project and the profile of the founder.

Arkad

• Service for joint work of investors;
• Closed in May 2013 - customers did not want to buy such software;
• History of the project and its founders: 1 , 2 and 3 .

Saaspire

• Marketing research software;
• Closed in June 2013 due to an imbalance of project resources;
• Parsing and profile of one of the founders.

Flowtab

• Service to pay for drinks in restaurants and bars;
• Closed in August 2013 due to poor marketing of the product;
• The history of a startup on the pages of Techcrunch and the profile of the founder.

Flud

• Personalized selection of news;
• Closed in September 2013 due to insufficient attention to testing the service;
• Note on the project at Techcrunch and founder .

Intellibank

• Online CRM;
• Closed in September 2013 - the team failed to properly position the project;
• One of the founders talks about the findings of the work, and the profile of the second founder.

Sonar

• Search colleagues by location;
• Closed in September 2013 due to the low efficiency of the project;
• The founder of a startup talks about working in a startup.

UniSport

• Playground on the subject of student sports;
• Closed in October 2013 for a variety of reasons;
• The founder of the project shared the story of his startup.

Travellllll

• Travel news;
• Closed in October 2013 due to low interest of the project audience;
• The founder of the project shares thoughts about his startup.

Admazely

• Retargeting platform;
• Closed in October 2013 - the investment is over;
• Notes about the unsuccessful development of the project through the eyes of its founder .

Mymanual

• Instructions for selecting home theaters;
• Closed in November 2013 due to insufficient product development experience;
• Note one of the founders .

Everpix

• Service for working with photos;
• Closed in November 2013 due to lack of resources to fight competitors;
• Project history and founder profile.

Tigerbow

• Sending gifts using social. networks;
• Closed in December 2013 due to lack of revenue;
• The founder of the project spoke about his startup.

Teamometer

• Time tracking service;
• Closed in December 2013 - did not reach an adequate level of profit;
• The story of one of the founders and the profile of the second.

Bookish

• Community for fans thin. literature;
• Closed in December 2013 - earnings from the sale of banner advertising did not reach the required level;
• The project founder analyzed the history of his project.

Exfm

• Music search platform;
• Closed in December 2013 due to too high costs for the technological part;
• The founders of the project wrote a note on the results of the closure of the project.

[ Part 2 ]
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Announcement:

Having dealt with potential risks and stories of unsuccessful start-ups start-up, you can consolidate the knowledge gained in our “ School of Investments ”.

The course is conducted within the framework of #tceh_edu together with the Accelerator of the IIDF. Read more - in an interview with our investment team .

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