// STARTUP AUTOPSIES · COUNTRY

Startup Failures in Costa Rica

14 startup autopsies from Costa Rica. Each includes the exact cause of failure, verified financial data, and the documented failure pattern.

14 autopsies · newest deaths first

SmartCredit CR

fintechCosta Rica2024

Costa Rican lending app survived COVID only to be destroyed by inflation and a regulatory probe.

Regulatory Kill

RepartoYa

foodtechCosta Rica2022

Costa Rica's leading food delivery app sold for under $200K after dominating the market for three years.

Fire Sale

PropTek CR

proptechCosta Rica2022

Costa Rica proptech pivoted from rentals to vacation stays and got killed by a 13% tax overnight.

Regulatory Kill

PayVia

fintechCosta Rica2021

Costa Rica's mobile payment hopeful died waiting for a license that never came in time.

Regulatory Kill

EcoTaxi CR

mobilityCosta Rica2019

Costa Rica's EV taxi startup ran out of charging stations before it ran out of enthusiasm.

Zombie Startup

CitiBike CR

mobilityCosta Rica2018

San José electric bike sharing raised $400K — COVID eliminated downtown office workers, MOPT regulated e-bike speed to 25km/h with special registration, bike theft in peripheral zones, monthly subscription model collapsed

Slow Death

SaasCR

b2bsaasCosta Rica

Costa Rica's B2B SaaS blocked by a market split between too-small SMEs and unreachable multinationals

Slow Death

CostaRicaAI

aiCosta Rica

Costa Rica's B2B AI that ran out of enterprises to sell to

Slow Death

EcoRide CR

mobilityCosta Rica

Costa Rica's electric shared scooter service was grounded by regulatory uncertainty and Uber's ride-hailing dominance

Slow Death

EcoSendero

travelCosta Rica

Costa Rican ecotourism booking platform unable to survive the COVID travel freeze

Slow Death

GamingCR

gamingCosta Rica

Costa Rica's gaming platform that Twitch already served better than any local alternative could

Silent Shutdown

BlockCR Supply Chain

blockchainCosta Rica

The blockchain supply chain startup that blockchain couldn't save

Zombie Startup

FoodCR

foodtechCosta Rica

Costa Rica's plant-based food startup in a country where Gallo Pinto is a national religion

Slow Death

IoTCR

iottechCosta Rica

Costa Rica's industrial IoT for factories whose OT specs came from Silicon Valley and Minnesota

Slow Death

// IS YOUR STARTUP HERE?

If your startup is already in the dataset, use the "Claim this autopsy" link at the bottom of its page to add first-hand context. If it's not, submit it.

SUBMIT YOURS →

Startup Failures in Costa Rica

// BY SECTOR

// BY CAUSE