10 Recent Internet Start Up Flops

While there have been many successful businesses thanks to the internet, there have also been some flops. For every successful internet company that the public has heard of and recognize, there are many more that failed before they even had a chance to market themselves properly. Internet businesses can be just as competitive, if not more, then in-house businesses and while some are well known and others ran their course without many people noticing, here are some of the biggest internet start up flops since 2008 worth mentioning, remembering and then as fast as they came and went, forgetting.

1. www.geocities.com As part of Yahoo’s site which they purchased for $3.57 billion, it didn’t go off with a bang. Constant problems made this startup a failure from the start and by 2009 they called it quits. It opened in January 2009 and closed by October of the same year.
2. www.renesola.com A manufacturer of cutting edge solar wafers, their intention for this green based company was promising, but by 2009, the company witnessed its stock price drop by 40%. Like many solar tech companies experience, renesola.com suffered the chance of making their technology profitable.
3. www.arcsight.com Some businesses fail because of companies unable to go public in a successful way, and arcsight.com is one of them. Although they raised over $50 million (which was $25 million short of their $75 million goal) arcsight.com closed down on its very first day of trading.
4. www.makosurgical.com Mako plasty allows orthopedic surgeons to help improve stiff and aching knees through knee surgery using their software called Solidworks 3D CAD software. While they expected to raise almost 100 million dollars, they failed short by raising only $63.8 million.
5. www.ata.com Ata.com was a Chinese company that based its product on learning software. While it was predicted be one of the best and most lucrative IPO’s in 2008, it failed during the same year when its stock lost 15% after it went public.
6. www.beenz.com The Beenz Company was a competitor of www.flooze.com who also went under but luckily Beenz cut their losses before it got to the point of bankruptcy.  Beenz attempted to create a company that lets consumers earn online currency by shopping online or visiting certain websites. The beenz currency could then be used towards participating merchants but in June of 2008, it was considered one of the biggest dot com disasters.
7. www.webvan.com The overall premise of webvan was a good idea in theory. They promised speedy grocery delivery  but they grew so fast and in the end, barely made a profit. To make a delivery, the customer had to be home during their hours of operation which many people were not, and in the end it just didn’t make sense. Webvan is missed by many though, without a grocery delivery service to replace them!
8. www.kozmo.com The idea was a good one, but in the end, it didn’t pan out like investors hoped it would. You can order anything from plants to snacks at any time of the day or night with no delivery charge and receive it within one hour. Kozmo.com eventually offered a small $10 delivery fee but by then it was too late. The company was in over their heads after spending $280 million in investment expenses.
9. www.pets.com Pets.com offered a simply product. For any animal lover with dogs, cats, birds, turtles, fish and others at home, they would provide pet products and deliver them to your home, thus giving a convenience way to order your pet products in the convenience of your home. While it offered a good product, its marketing tactics weren’t successful and in the end, losing money partially due to their free delivery policy.
10. www.mvp.com With the initial funding of nearly $65 million, the company’s intentions just didn’t meet the consumer’s needs for an online sports retailer. They did their homework and had major sports stars headline the company including Michael Jordon but the result was closure.

There’s a well known rule of thumb that for all businesses trying to make it, 50% of them will fail. Whether you are building a company from your hard earned savings or borrowing from investors, the risk is great that your business may not succeed.  Do you have a product that fits in your niche market or is it too similar to many of the other businesses already succeeding? Before trying your hand as a business owner, take a good look at the failures of those businesses listed above and start your internet business the right way – by learning the lessons of others.

(source:dslservice-providers.com)

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