Ask HN: What startup did you try to create in past that failed?
What startup have you created in past that completely failed?
What problem were you trying to solve?
Why do you think it failed?
1337Tech(2005) - a tech review blog ala AnandTech. Tear downs, detailed reviews and the like. Failed because we couldn't keep up a schedule
edgeyo(2009-2012) - a matching marketplace for investors and startups - think AngelList + SecondMarket + KickStarter. Ran into some regulatory concerns, and eventually we decided to just close shop because we couldn't put enough time and effort into working past some of those issues.
SpellTrade(2010) - a options exchange for Magic the Gathering cards. Supply problem caused a bootstrapping problem (our partner couldn't put up enough to supply the cards for bootstrapping). Closed before we even made a sale.
Strangers For Dinner(2012) - a matching market for strangers - one party will host a dinner party, and 5 other people will show up as guests. We managed to match about 50 parties in total before the number of people signing up as guests far outnumbered the people wanting to host. Also, people were not likely to host a second time. Couldn't get around this problem, plus the team had other commitments, so we shut it down.
2 out of three of the startups I had in the last 4 years or so were killed because they eventually became zombie startups. We couldn't get traction.
The site actually got big really fast because in 2006 no real competitors existed and SEO was very easy (then).
It failed for a few reasons:
One, before the site I didn't know how to program. I actually taught myself how to program in PHP/MySQL/JS to launch the site. The code was very shitty and so was the design.
Two, I didn't understand just how much bandwidth this would consume. I ran this out of my downtown 1 bed room apartment on a PC built in 1999. Sometimes I'd wake up from parties and see people passed out next to it with beer bottles and weed on top of it. Eventually my Dad donated a DL380 to me, but the bigger problem was I ran this on a business class DSL line. Playback and uploads were terrible. Sometimes I would actually disconnect the server from my modem so I could do online gaming.
Three, I had no idea about how to make money online or find investors. I had no plans other than just build it cause its cool.
In the end it worked out really well. I discontinued the site and continued my career in development.
I tried to do this as a bootstrapped startup, while maintaining a day job.
In the end, it failed after about a year of my working on it and launching a private beta. Here's why I believe it failed:
* I should have launched with a mobile app first. Desktop web apps (which we focused on) were a non-starter. But this was 2010 so the rise of mobile was still unknown.
* Sales to service professionals is tough since many are small, family-owned businesses. This requires a high touch sales process and an army of sales people to execute on it.
* Doing a business like this while bootstrapping and working full time was impossible and I moved slowly as a result. To make it work, it would require going at it full time with VC funding.
Since I shut it down, I have noticed a few startups penetrate this field (RedBeacon, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor) and it's been interesting to see how they tackled the same problems.
I learned a lot from the experience, both professionally and technically (it was my first Rails app) which I've been able to successfully leverage into a career working with startups. So I don't consider it a loss at all.
Why did I fail? Co-founder issues, no actual plan put in place, we had an MVP, but we never pivoted to meet the needs of our customers, and we lacked constant communication with our early adopters.
I am continually thinking about relaunching the project, but being a stay at home Dad, and freelance developer has made it hard for me to find a good co-founder. I could potentially launch by myself, but I know that I lack the skills to properly get it in front of my target market.