Business model failed
Business model failed: 82 startups that closed for this reason, with their stories and lessons.
82 startups
Quandoo Türkiye
The Turkish operation of the Berlin-based online restaurant booking platform
Closed2014 – 2025Dunzo
The Indian errands and quick-commerce app that grew out of a WhatsApp group
Closed2016 – 2025Gazete Duvar
An independent online newspaper launched after the 15 July coup attempt that lasted nine years
Closed2016 – 2025Nabız (Nabd Türkiye)
The Turkish edition of Nabd, the Arab world's news app, aggregating more than 300 Turkish sources
Closed2014 – 2025Sonder
The hospitality company that leased flats and ran them like hotels through an app
Closed2015 – 2024Bowery Farming
A vertical farming start-up that grew greens in warehouses without pesticides
Closed2012 – 2024Gro Intelligence
A New York- and Nairobi-based platform that analysed global agricultural data with super intelligence
Closed2013 – 2023Babylon Health
The health company offering an SI-powered chatbot and video consultations with doctors
Closed2011 – 2023BuzzFeed News
BuzzFeed's Pulitzer-winning investigative journalism and news division
Closed2011 – 2023Dergilik (Turkcell)
Turkcell's digital publishing platform offering hundreds of magazines and newspapers in a single app
Closed2014 – 2023Ello
The social network born as an ad-free alternative to Facebook that became an artists' community
Closed2011 – 2023Morhipo
Boyner Holding's fashion site that brought new-season products and promotions together in one place
Closed2013 – 2023Pear Therapeutics
The FDA-authorised digital health pioneer developing prescription software therapies
Closed2004 – 2023Proterra
The US company making electric city buses, battery systems and charging infrastructure
Closed2019 – 2022Barty
A peer-to-peer platform where second-hand goods were swapped for points rather than money
Closed2018 – 2022BenzinLitre
The app that mapped petrol stations with their latest prices and facilities
Closed2014 – 2022Kite
The pre-Copilot assistant that offered super intelligence autocompletion as you coded
Closed2010 – 2022Kitty Hawk
The electric flying vehicle start-up backed by Larry Page
Closed2010 – 2022Yakala.co
The Turkish daily-deals site, backed by Hürriyet, that stood out for its witty voice
Closed2016 – 2021Arıkovanı
Turkcell's reward-based crowdfunding platform for technology start-ups
Closed2011 – 2021Greensill Capital
The supply chain finance firm that grew at breakneck speed and collapsed in 2021
Closed2016 – 2021Knotel
The $1.6 billion WeWork rival that built flexible, dedicated headquarters for companies
Closed2013 – 2021Zomato Türkiye
The restaurant discovery platform that grew by buying Mekanist, and came and went twice
Closed2017 – 2020Atrium
A company from Twitch's co-founder that delivered legal services to start-ups through software
Closed2016 – 2020Brandless
The unbranded everyday-essentials start-up that sold every product for $3
Closed2001 – 2020Proteus Digital Health
A digital medicine company valued at USD 1.5 billion that put ingestible sensors into pills
Closed? – 2020Smopin
The swipe-based chat app that matched strangers who wanted to talk about the same topic
Closed2017 – 2020Xinja
The Australian neobank that gathered deposits at high interest, made no loans and handed back its licence
Closed2014 – 2019Arivale
A start-up offering personal health coaching based on genetic and blood tests
Closed2015 – 2019Call9
It set out to cut unnecessary hospital transfers by bringing remote emergency medicine to nursing homes
Closed2013 – 2019Ligatus Türkiye
The ad network serving native ads dressed as content recommendations on news sites
Closed2008 – 2019Markafoni
The discount fashion site that popularised invitation-only private shopping in Turkey
Closed2011 – 2019MoviePass
The monthly cinema subscription buried under its own subscriber boom
Closed2010 – 2019Munchery
The service delivering chilled, chef-prepared dinners to people's homes
Closed2018 – 2019Scotty Yemek
The food delivery service of Scotty, the motorbike ride app, bringing restaurant meals by courier
Closed2017 – 2019ŞefGibi
The Turkish start-up sending weekly meal kits with recipe cards and pre-portioned ingredients
Closed2013 – 2018Shyp
The on-demand courier app that collected parcels from your door, packed them and shipped them
Closed2014 – 2017Bukoli
A Borusan venture that delivered online orders to neighbourhood shops and smart lockers
Closed2011 – 2017Butikbebe.com
The Turkish private shopping site selling products for mothers, mothers-to-be and babies through campaigns
Closed2016 – 2017Kidimami
The marketplace where families bought and sold new and lightly used baby and children's products
Closed2009 – 2017Quixey
The search engine that found apps by what they do rather than what they are called
Closed2013 – 2017Sprig
The food start-up that brought healthy chef-made meals to your door in 20 minutes
Closed2007 – 2017Stayzilla
A homestay and budget hotel marketplace that tried to become India's Airbnb
Closed2011 – 2016Annelütfen
A vertical e-commerce site selling mother, baby and children's products, which also tried a subscription model
Closed2004 – 2016Bilio.com (Ucuzu.com)
A price comparison site born as Ucuzu.com that was renamed Bilio under Naspers
Closed2006 – 2016ChaCha
A text-message search service where human guides answered the questions
Closed2012 – 2016CircleBack Lending
The US online lending platform that opened consumer loans to institutional investors
Closed2011 – 2016Dinner Lab
A pop-up supper club that opened up-and-coming chefs' tables to members and spread to 31 cities
Closed2014 – 2016GoZoomo
The Indian used-car marketplace that shut down with money still in the bank and returned what was left
Closed2010 – 2016İndirdik.com
The Turkish deals site selling quirky products at a discount, first known as Bendeİstiyorum.com
Closed2013 – 2016Move Loot
The start-up that handled second-hand furniture sales end to end and wanted to take on Craigslist
Closed2014 – 2016PepperTap
The Indian grocery delivery app that raised $50 million in two years and grew on discounts
Closed2009 – 2016RethinkDB
The real-time open-source database company that was loved but could not make money
Closed2014 – 2016Shipbeat
A Danish shipping platform that billed itself as the Klarna of logistics
Closed2013 – 2016Washio
An on-demand service that collected dirty laundry from the door and returned it clean within 24 hours
Closed2012 – 2015Arabulvar
A general e-commerce site and marketplace launched in Turkey by Limango, part of Otto Group
Closed2010 – 2015Fab
The daily-deals design shop once valued at more than $1 billion
Closed2010 – 2015Homejoy
An online platform connecting customers with home cleaners and handymen
Closed2012 – 2015Lokum.com
Yemeksepeti's online shop for regional and artisan food
Closed2009 – 2015Quirky
A New York invention platform that turned community-submitted ideas into products and sold them
Closed2010 – 2015Şehir Fırsatı (Groupon Türkiye)
Groupon's Turkish brand, a daily deals site selling vouchers for restaurants, spas and events
Closed2008 – 2014Springpad
The note-taking app that reached 5 million users in Evernote's shadow but never built a revenue model
Closed2007 – 2013Better Place
The ambitious mobility start-up that built battery-swap stations for electric cars
Closed2011 – 2013Flowtab
The Los Angeles start-up that promised drinks ordered by phone, with no queueing at the bar
Closed2012 – 2013Goboti
The e-commerce site selling one designer T-shirt a day from Turkish designers
Closed2011 – 2013Memurfoni
A group-buying site offering discounted deals to members of Memurlar.net
Closed2011 – 2013Pakette
The Turkish e-commerce site that sold one discounted product a day, with free shipping on three
Closed2012 – 2013StilSOS
The social fashion showcase that presented products from different brands and designers as outfits
Closed2011 – 2013Turntable.fm
The social listening site where users took turns playing DJ in virtual rooms
Closed2010 – 2013Tutorspree
The would-be Airbnb of tutoring that closed after becoming dependent on Google traffic
Closed2012 – 2012Bamarang Türkiye
Rocket Internet's Turkish site selling design products through flash sales
Closed2011 – 2012Evimister
The vertical e-commerce site selling everything from home decor to home electronics
Closed2011 – 2012Sporena
The Turkish vertical e-commerce site selling sports shoes, clothing and accessories
Closed2012 – 2012Zidaya
The shoe, clothing and accessories site Rocket Internet set up in Turkey
Closed2005 – 2010Hemalhemsat
A Doğan Group marketplace connecting individual sellers and shops with buyers
Closed2007 – 2009Lookery
The start-up born as an ad network for Facebook apps that was undone by platform dependence
Closed2005 – 2009Teketek
A technology distributor's shopping site, focused on computers and electronics
Closed2005 – 2009Yeterkiiste
The technology-focused online shop set up as an affiliate of İş Bankası
Closed1996 – 2001Excite@Home
The cable broadband provider that merged with the Excite web portal
Closed1998 – 2001Kozmo.com
The delivery service that brought films, snacks and everyday essentials to your door within an hour, free
Closed1996 – 2001Webvan
The dotcom giant that delivered grocery orders to the door within a 30-minute window
Closed1998 – 2000Pets.com
The dotcom that sold pet supplies online, famous for its sock-puppet mascot
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This section is compiled from public sources (Wikidata, news archives and company announcements). Figures are given as they appear in those sources; unknown fields are left blank. If you spot a mistake in an entry, you can send us a correction.