Evaluating only Sela’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Unit economics as the #1 likely cause. That’s exactly how it died.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
FUNDING
CRISIS
SHUTDOWN
Full Analysis
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Documented cause
Sela built a Turkish fashion ecommerce platform targeting young consumers with fast-fashion offerings at competitive prices. With $12M raised, it was growing fast. But Turkey's Lira crisis of 2021-23, with inflation exceeding 80%, decimated consumer purchasing power for discretionary fashion items. Inventory costs in USD-denominated imports grew 3x while Sela could not raise Turkish Lira prices fast enough to maintain margins.
Lesson
“Ecommerce platforms in volatile currency markets must source locally or maintain USD pricing — there is no middle ground in a currency crisis.”