// STARTUP COMPARISON
Bubok vs Thomas Cook
Bubok failed in 2018 due to Competition. Thomas Cook failed in 2019 due to Competition. Both failed for the same reason — Competition.
| METRIC | 🔥 Bubok | 🔥 Thomas Cook |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Ecommerce | Ecommerce |
| Country | Spain | UK |
| Founded | 2007 | 1841 |
| Died | 2018 | 2019 |
| Raised | €3M | Public company |
| Peak | 150,000 authors | £1.6B revenue · 19M customers |
| Primary Cause | Competition | Competition |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 Bubok
Competition
Bubok was Spain's leading self-publishing platform with 150,000 authors offering print-on-demand and ebook distribution. Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) launched in Spanish in 2012, offering global distribution, higher royalties, and Amazon's full marketing reach. Bubok could not compete on any of these dimensions and closed in 2018.
// LESSON
Building a community platform in a category where Amazon has strategic interest is timing debt. They will enter. The only question is whether you have built enough defensibility — proprietary data, community lock-in, niche specialization — before they do.
Building a community platform in a category where Amazon has strategic interest is timing debt. They will enter. The only question is whether you have built enough defensibility — proprietary data, community lock-in, niche specialization — before they do.
🔥 Thomas Cook
Competition
Thomas Cook, founded in 1841, failed to adapt its package holiday model to online distribution. Booking.com, Airbnb, and direct airline booking eroded margins for a decade. The company carried £1.7B in debt. A £200M rescue package fell through in September 2019. It ceased operations leaving 600,000 customers stranded abroad — the UK's largest peacetime repatriation.
// LESSON
Longevity is not a moat. 178 years of brand equity does not survive a decade of ignoring digital distribution. The internet does not make exceptions for heritage brands.
Longevity is not a moat. 178 years of brand equity does not survive a decade of ignoring digital distribution. The internet does not make exceptions for heritage brands.
// EXPLORE FURTHER