Colombian B2B hardware-store marketplace backed by Andreessen Horowitz, SoftBank, and General Atlantic with $180M raised — executed multiple mass layoff rounds before winding down in 2023.
Evaluating only Tul’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
Tul founded
DOWN ROUND
Down round or bridge financing
SHUTDOWN
Mass Layoff Spiral: Tul ceases operations
Full Analysis
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Documented cause
Tul was founded in 2019 by Matías Ordóñez and Santiago García to digitise the supply chain for ferreterías — the hardware and building-material stores that are the primary retail channel for Colombia's construction industry. The platform let store owners order cement, steel, paint, and tools from suppliers via app with rapid delivery. Tul raised $62M in a Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz in August 2021, then raised further capital bringing the total to approximately $180M. The company expanded rapidly across Colombia and into Mexico. Hardware distribution involves heavy, bulky goods with complex logistics; building material demand is highly cyclical with construction activity; and hardware store owners operate on thin margins with limited digital adoption. When VC funding markets tightened in 2022, Tul could not raise at its previous valuation and executed two rounds of significant layoffs. Colombian operations wound down in 2023, making Tul the largest capital loss in the LatAm B2B informal-retail wave.
Lesson
“Some market problems are real but require capital patience incompatible with VC fund structures. Recognising that distinction before committing $180M is the job.”