Another Startup Failure, Because “No PMF”

Product Market Fit Fail

It does not matter if your product solves the customer’s problems in the most efficient way. If the customer is not willing to pay then you lack PMF.

One effective means of measuring consumer willingness to pay is by seeking pre-sales. This approach is especially helpful if you have not yet built your product, as it can inform you if it is worth investing in the full development of your idea. By obtaining early financial commitments from potential customers, you can gain one of the strongest indicators that your idea has a solid product-market fit.

90% of startups fail. Learn from startup failures and successes.

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Healthcare startup Project Ronin burned through $10 million dollars of investor cash before finding out there was no product market Fit. (It solved a problem, but the market was unwilling to pay for it.) Read more about that here.

Presales is a crucial aspect of any successful sales process. It involves a wide range of activities, ranging from conducting research and developing a deeper understanding of potential customers, to nurturing and strengthening relationships with them. By investing time and effort into presales, businesses can effectively establish a strong foundation upon which to build their sales funnel and ultimately achieve greater success. Once presales teams have successfully established these crucial connections, they can then transfer them to the sales team to help facilitate the purchasing process.

Hat tip to Nico from Failory!

Journera’s $35 Million Dollar Product Market Fit Fail

Journera Fail

Last week, Journera, an innovative startup with a mission of revolutionizing the travel industry by connecting all aspects of a journey together, unfortunately announced the closure of its operation. Despite having secured a total funding of $36 million over the span of 8 years, the company encountered challenges in finding a viable market for their product.

While it is certainly disappointing that Journera had to shut down, it’s important to remember that failure is often an essential part of the entrepreneurial journey. Many successful entrepreneurs experience multiple failures before finding a winning formula for their business. In fact, some would argue that failure is necessary in order to ultimately achieve success.

Once again, thanks to Nico over at Failory.com for helping us avoid failure.

Looking at the reasons why Journera failed, it’s clear that product-market-fit is essential for any startup. Without a strong need and willingness to pay for your product, even the most innovative and exciting idea won’t succeed. It’s important for entrepreneurs to constantly evaluate their product-market-fit and adjust their strategy accordingly.

Timing is another key factor that can make or break a startup. While Journera may have been ahead of its time, it’s possible that their idea could still thrive in a different market or at a different time. Successful entrepreneurs pay close attention to market trends and are able to identify where the next big opportunity lies.

Ultimately, the lessons learned from Journera’s failure can be valuable for any entrepreneur. Remember, failure is not the end, but rather an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve your strategy for future success.

90% of startups fail. Learn from startup failures and successes

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Billion Dollar Crypto Scam Faked It’s Own CEO

The Guardian found that the supposed boss of a digital cash project, which supposedly lost $1.3 billion of money from investors, might not actually exist. The project is called HyperVerse and stated that Steven Reece Lewis was the CEO. He reportedly had sold a computer company to Adobe and worked for Goldman Sachs. He claimed to have a degree from the University of Cambridge and to have passed from the University of Leeds.

But the two schools do not have him registered on their databases, and the firms he said he worked for have denied the claims.

On top of that, the company register in the UK, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission can’t find him either.

Australian regulators also evidently permitted the company to offer cryptocurrency subscriptions without proper checks.

More from Protos here 

90% of startups fail. Learn from startup failures and successes

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Startup social app IRL turned out to be a scam

After raising $200 million to build the next Facebook, IRL’s ousted CEO reacts by saying he’s “shocked” about all thos pesky fake users.

The social app IRL, which was initially touted to be the perfect platform to bring people together, has now turned out to be a digital version of a story that is simply too good to be true.

Unfortunately, what seemed like a seamless app with advanced functionality and intuitive design has now revealed itself to be far from what it promised. This is a shame for those who had high hopes of making meaningful connections on the platform.

Despite the disappointment, it is important to remember that there are still many other social apps out there that can provide the experience that you are looking for.  Bluesky, for example.

Read more here https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/30/23780041/command-line-irl-ex-ceo-shocked-fake-users