// STARTUP COMPARISON
Aplazame vs Social Point
Aplazame failed in 2022 due to Acquisition Gone Wrong. Social Point failed in 2017 due to Acquisition Gone Wrong. Both failed for the same reason — Acquisition Gone Wrong.
| METRIC | 🔥 Aplazame | 🔥 Social Point |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Fintech | Gaming |
| Country | Spain | Spain |
| Founded | 2013 | 2008 |
| Died | 2022 | 2017 |
| Raised | €15M | Bootstrapped |
| Peak | Acquired by WiZink 2017 | $250M acquisition |
| Primary Cause | Acquisition Gone Wrong | Acquisition Gone Wrong |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 Aplazame
Acquisition Gone Wrong
Aplazame was Spain's early BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) leader, acquired by WiZink Bank in 2017 for an undisclosed sum. Post-acquisition, Aplazame was integrated into WiZink's consumer finance products and its brand gradually disappeared. By 2022, Aplazame as an independent product no longer existed — absorbed into WiZink's broader offering while global BNPL leaders like Klarna and Afterpay dominated the space the company had pioneered.
// LESSON
Being acquired by a traditional bank as a fintech is not an exit — it is a slow disappearance. Banks acquire to neutralize competition, not to scale the product. Aplazame pioneered BNPL in Spain and ended up as a footnote in WiZink's product catalog.
Being acquired by a traditional bank as a fintech is not an exit — it is a slow disappearance. Banks acquire to neutralize competition, not to scale the product. Aplazame pioneered BNPL in Spain and ended up as a footnote in WiZink's product catalog.
🔥 Social Point
Acquisition Gone Wrong
Social Point built Dragon City and Monster Legends, reaching 100M monthly active users. Take-Two Interactive acquired them for $250M in 2017. Post-acquisition integration clashes, loss of autonomy, and departure of founding team led to creative stagnation. By 2020 both flagship games had declined significantly and the studio identity was absorbed into the parent company.
// LESSON
A mobile gaming acquisition that removes the founding team removes the only asset that created the value. Earnout structures and creative autonomy clauses are not optional — they are the acquisition.
A mobile gaming acquisition that removes the founding team removes the only asset that created the value. Earnout structures and creative autonomy clauses are not optional — they are the acquisition.
// EXPLORE FURTHER