// startup autopsy
Push Pop Press
Built the most beautiful digital book ever made — Facebook bought it and cancelled publishing.
acquisition gone wrongAcqui-hire
Fatal mistake: Acqui-hired by Facebook — platform shut down same day as acquisition announcement
// the model, blind
Evaluating only Push Pop Press’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Acquisition gone wrong as the #1 likely cause. That’s exactly how it died.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Push Pop Press founded in January 2010 by former Apple engineers Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris to build an interactive digital publishing platform for iPad.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Push Pop Press publicly debuted its interactive e-book technology at TED 2010, showcasing rich multimedia capabilities including embedded video, animations, and touch-driven infographics.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Al Gore's 'Our Choice,' the first and only title published on the Push Pop Press platform, launched on the iPad App Store in February 2011 at a price of $4.99.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Apple named Al Gore's 'Our Choice,' built on Push Pop Press technology, its iPad App of the Year for 2011, bringing the two-person startup significant industry recognition.
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
Acqui-hire: Push Pop Press ceases operations after Facebook acquired the two-person company in August 2011, with founders Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris joining Facebook to work on the Timeline feature.
SHUTDOWN
Facebook shut down the Push Pop Press publishing platform immediately following the acquisition in August 2011, ending any prospect of the technology being licensed or expanded to other publishers.