# Flip (2019 – 2025)

- URL: https://girisimcikafasi.com/en/startup-graveyard/flip-shop/
- Sector: E-commerce
- Country: United States
- Total funding: $236 million
- Unicorn: yes, peak valuation $1.1 billion
- Cause of closure: Business model failed

## What did it do?

Flip was a US app that sold through short video reviews and live streams. Users posted videos of what they had bought and earned money from views and sales. Shoppers received free products, referral rewards and rewards for watching adverts. Its final published figures were 16.5 million users, 4.6 million creators and 10 million videos.

## Why did it shut down?

Flip raised USD 144 million at a USD 1.05 billion valuation in April 2024, with AppLovin putting in USD 50 million. In July 2024 it bought Curated in a stock deal. Growth came from steep referral rewards, free products and contact-syncing incentives. Creators said it became harder to collect their payments and that the model looked unsustainable. TikTok Shop and Amazon, meanwhile, were chasing the same audience at far greater scale. The app closed without notice at the end of August 2025; the company gave no official reason, and one skincare brand said it was still owed a few thousand dollars.

## The story

Flip's idea was simple: turn shopping into entertainment and pay people for the entertainment. In the app founded by Noor Agha, people posted short video reviews of what they had bought and earned from views and sales. Even views from people who did not follow them paid.

In April 2024 investors valued that model at USD 1.05 billion. AppLovin joined the USD 144 million round led by Streamlined Ventures with USD 50 million. In July 2024 Flip bought Curated in a stock deal.

But the economics inside the app kept raising one question: who was paying for all this? Referral rewards, free products and contact-syncing incentives brought growth, not profit. In time creators began struggling to collect what they were owed.

At the end of August 2025 the app went dark. Brands and creators had no warning. The company wrote that it was saddened, but gave no reason. About USD 236 million of investment was gone, some invoices were left unpaid, and only 16 months had passed since the billion-dollar round.

## Lessons

- Growth you buy by paying users leaves as quickly as the money stops. Measure early how many stay when incentives are cut.
- On a two-sided platform your most valuable asset is the other side's trust. When creator payments start slipping, read it as a cash alarm, not a marketing problem.
- You cannot match the distribution of a giant like TikTok Shop by playing its own game. Pick something narrow it will not do, or competition turns into a contest of reward budgets.

## Sources

- [Once Valued At Over $1B, Social Shopping App Flip Shutters](https://www.beautyindependent.com/once-valued-over-1b-social-shopping-app-flip-shutters/)
- [Tech Start-Up Flip, Once Valued at $1 Billion, Shutters](https://www.beautymatter.com/articles/tech-start-up-flip-once-valued-at-1-billion-shutters)
- [AppLovin and Flip Announce Flip To Launch Ad Marketplace for Merchants](https://investors.applovin.com/news/news-details/2024/AppLovin-and-Flip-Announce-Flip-To-Launch-Ad-Marketplace-for-Merchants-Using-AppLovins-AXON-Technology/default.aspx)
- [Flip: Social Commerce Company Raises $144 Million At $1.05 Billion Valuation](https://pulse2.com/flip-social-commerce-company-raises-144-million-at-1-05-billion-valuation)