Failory
Founders make mistakes - the best ones learn from them
Start new thread
Kevin William David

Startup Cemetery - Learn why 100+ startups have failed

by

A big resource for entrepreneurs and startup owners, in which we have collected and analyzed why +100 big companies have failed. Learn from mistakes, and avoid being part of the 90% of businesses that fail.

Add a comment

Replies

Best
Rich Clominson
Maker
Hey everyone! It's Rich, maker of Failory. I have just launched a project I've been working on during the last 6 months called Startup Cemetery. In few words, it is a big resource for entrepreneurs and startup owners, in which I have collected data and analyzed why +100 big companies have failed. I am super enthusiastic and believe in the future this will become bigger and bigger and will be an essential resource for entrepreneurs. If you have any doubts, suggestions or feedback, please let me know by commenting down!
Akshay Kadam(A2K)
@clominson Good job Rich on collecting so much data & stats. Love the Surprise Me button :) Would love a sort button. When I selected >$50M, I was wishing it was in descending order of funding but I think the sort button is missing.
Sanjana Murali
@clominson Brilliant idea Rich.
Rich Clominson
Maker
@deadcoder0904 That's true! Will try to implement it ;)
Rich Clominson
Maker
@sanjana_rm Thanks!
Kenan Shiralizada
@clominson Amazing idea!
Raffaele Asquer
could be instructive. how about a podcast? in each episode (or article), it would be interesting to see one failed startup vs similar one that succeeded, and what they did differently
Rich Clominson
Maker
@raffasquer Would be really interesting. Currently working on a similar podcast idea though - Interviews with entrepreneurs who've failed but now are successful What do you think?
Amr Kafina
I've been following @clominson's work with Failory for a while now, and it's been amazing seeing how he's grown the project over the past couple of years. Big thumbs up Rich!
Rich Clominson
Maker
Thanks a lot @amrkafina for your kind words, seriously! Cool things are coming (a podcast and a community...)!
Zaheer Baloch
Reminded me of Google Cemetery by @naeemol - Great resource notheless
Rich Clominson
Maker
@naeemol @zaheerbaloch Love Google Cemetery!
Evan J. Zimmerman

This would probably be better if it was more curated wiki-style. You can't even suggest a failed startup, let alone edit their page.

Pros:

Very cool idea, with lots of startups. I like that it covers things like media.

Cons:

The analysis is pretty light. It answers the question "who" more than "why".

Sylvain Maretto
We would need an insider's POV for each failure. "Product management was too short sighted", "funding ran out before choking the competition successfully", "costs of display advertising to high compared to average basket after 10 months".... This is what I want to read to get effective insights.
Rich Clominson
Maker
Cool! Will try to implement a way to suggest edits. I was also thinking that people could add their own pages, but not sure about the quality of the writing. What do you think?
tjstalcup
One way I have found that Startups fail is by naming themselves after an already popular brand, for instance DC Comics or Marvel
Vishal Nema
The only startup listing website where no company/product will want to be :P
Rich Clominson
Maker
@vishal_nema Hahah instead of paying to be features, companies can pay not to be featured ;)
Vishal Nema
@clominson That would be really interesting to see ;P
Christopher Elliott

This fits right along the theme of Failory! 😃

Pros:

In-depth analysis and categorization features.

Cons:

An alternative is Startup Graveyard, but I prefer Failory's cemetery more -- it has more categorization features.

Utkarsh Talwar
I really like this, especially because the information is well-organized and has just enough depth. The lack of depth was the main thing lacking in How Not To Launch imo (and it also hasn't been updated in a while apparently).
Rich Clominson
Maker
@talwarutkarsh Thanks for the nice words ;) Will keep this updated.
Manoj Kumar
Thanks for the compilation. Just watch out for the select and option element colors. They are invisible. Same text color on same color background.
Rich Clominson
Maker
@manoj_shredder Yeah, they are there so that filters work.
Manoj Kumar
@clominson Not sure if you got me right but this is how I see the filters:
Rich Clominson
Maker
@manoj_shredder Oh I see! yeah I need to fix that inmediately. It's a problem caused by Webflow I suppose (my website builder app), so I need to contact them. I see you are using Chrome and on Windows, which fits with another girl who had the same problem.
Mikey Howe
Great resource when you're looking at building new products! Always good to avoid pitfalls.
Nataliia Deineha
Well done @clominson ! I spent like a couple of hours reading different stories, I think it's always more valuable and useful to learn specifically from failures. Again, my compliments on the good work!
Rich Clominson
Maker
@nata_deineha Thanks a lot Nataliia! Glad to hear your like the resource ;)
Aazar Ali Shad
amazing idea!
Rich Clominson
Maker
@aazar_ali_shad Thanks Aazar!
Tyler Angert
Awesome! I'd love if there was a subreddit like this...
Rich Clominson
Maker
@tylerangert There actually is, but it isn't really active. It's /r/shutdown. Maybe I can create a new one!
Paul Danyliuk
There are many startup cemetery websites already. But unlike all those, I believe this one will actually be updated. I’ve been a follower of Failory for a while (saw it on Indie Hackers), and I really like the quality of content Rich is putting out there, especially the interviews. Good job!
Rich Clominson
Maker
@paul_danyliuk Thanks a lot Paul! I'm planning to publish a lot more stories. I will invest all the money generated by the project outsourcing the content creation ;)
Tim Chard
Awesome Rich - love the Failory newsletter too
Rich Clominson
Maker
@timchardme Thanks Tim! Keep an eye on the site that cool things are coming...
Hasan Diwan
Is this the new f'dcompany?
Jeff Kao
This is a great resource for founders like me. Reminds me of a post-mortem process we have when engineers break things. The design of the site looks "inspired" by IndieHackers 😏 What are your plans to monetize the content here?
Rich Clominson
Maker
@jeff_kao Great to hear you like it! And yeah, I love IH. As for moentization, I was thinking about ADs, what do you think? Also some premium content?
Jeff Kao
@clominson I think most consumer expectations for something like this are that the product is free. You may have that 1-3% of people that really want to support this and provide first-access / provide product direction to content, for example (e.g. who should I interview next). I think this depends on how your current engagement is. Higher conversion ad networks (like Carbon or some tech-focused partnerships) / tech job postings could be the way to go. Generally, these sorts of highly structured company listings could lend themselves well to generating leads lists, but... these are failed companies, unfortunately.
Jake Tran
Reading Failory is how I start my day
Rich Clominson
Maker
@jake_tran Oh god thanks!! Seriously, thanks a lot ;)
Steven Gabriel Graham
I see a lot of value in this. Looking forward to the podcast. Please invite some VCs on to get some additional perspective on why something failed. It's nice to get the first hand founder interview as well.
Rich Clominson
Maker
@stevengabrielgraham That would be really interesting! Taking notes ;)