Evaluating only VendorGuard’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Competition as the #1 likely cause. That’s exactly how it died.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Sarah McKinley founded VendorGuard in Boston to automate vendor risk scoring for procurement teams.
FUNDING
$7.2M Series A raised from G20 Ventures; platform reached 35 enterprise clients by end of 2019.
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
Coupa Software acquisition talks collapsed over IP ownership dispute between founding team and early investors.
SHUTDOWN
McKinley shut down VendorGuard; 18 employees displaced after Series B rejections and co-founder departures.
Full Analysis
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Documented cause
VendorGuard, a Boston startup founded by Sarah McKinley in 2018, raised $7.2M to provide automated vendor risk assessments for procurement teams. The company was acquired-attempted by Coupa Software in Q1 2020 but deal fell through over IP ownership disputes. Sales stagnated at $1.3M ARR after 3 years. Series B attempts in fall 2020 failed as investors preferred incumbent Riskmethods. Two co-founders departed in January 2021. McKinley shut down the company in June 2021, with 18 employees displaced.
Lesson
“IP ownership ambiguities must be resolved in founding agreements — they will surface and kill acquisition exits precisely when most needed.”