Evaluating only FloodBase’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Unit economics as the #1 likely cause. Documented cause: Product failure.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Founded in San Francisco by Bessie Schwartz to deliver satellite flood extent data for parametric insurance carriers.
FUNDING
Raised $18M from Munich Re Ventures and Obvious Ventures; signed three carrier contracts totaling $5M ARR.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Hurricane Ian exposed 72-hour satellite data latency in cloud cover; three carrier clients terminated immediately.
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
Acqui-hired by a geospatial mapping firm for under $3M; technology repurposed for logistics flood routing.
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Documented cause
FloodBase raised $18M from Munich Re Ventures and Obvious Ventures to provide satellite flood extent data powering parametric insurance triggers. A major rebranding and pivot to serving humanitarian NGOs burned $4M in 2022 with negligible revenue. After Hurricane Ian in September 2022 revealed significant data latency flaws—satellite passes took 72 hours in cloud cover—three insurance carrier clients terminated contracts. CEO Bessie Schwartz resigned in mid-2023, and the company was quietly acqui-hired by a mapping firm in early 2024 for an undisclosed sum believed below $3M.
Lesson
“Climate data products must be validated in worst-case weather conditions, not average ones, before going to market.”
Failure anatomy
Collapse type
Acqui-hire
📉 MEDIUM
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