// STARTUP COMPARISON
Bulb Energy vs MoviePass
Bulb Energy failed in 2022 due to Bad Timing. MoviePass failed in 2019 due to Unit Economics. Different causes, different sectors, different eras — but the same simulation outcome.
| METRIC | 🔥 Bulb Energy | 🔥 MoviePass |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Consumer | Consumer |
| Country | UK | USA |
| Founded | 2015 | 2011 |
| Died | 2022 | 2019 |
| Raised | £165M | $68M |
| Peak | 1.7M customers | 3M subscribers |
| Primary Cause | Bad Timing | Unit Economics |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 Bulb Energy
Bad Timing
Bulb Energy served 1.7M UK customers on fixed green energy tariffs. In 2021 wholesale gas prices surged over 400%. Locked into fixed prices, Bulb could not pass costs to customers. It entered UK government special administration in November 2021 — the largest UK energy company failure in history. Octopus Energy acquired it in 2022 for £2.4B.
// LESSON
Fixed-price contracts in commodity markets are inherently short positions. When the commodity moves against you at scale, no brand equity absorbs the loss.
Fixed-price contracts in commodity markets are inherently short positions. When the commodity moves against you at scale, no brand equity absorbs the loss.
🔥 MoviePass
Unit Economics
MoviePass charged $9.99/month while paying full theater ticket prices per visit. Heavy users went to movies daily. At 3M subscribers the company burned $40M/month and needed multiple emergency capital raises. The service collapsed in 2019 after deactivating subscriber cards mid-screening to conserve cash.
// LESSON
Subsidizing consumption is not a business model. If your price is below cost on transaction one, no scale ever fixes it. Volume amplifies the problem.
Subsidizing consumption is not a business model. If your price is below cost on transaction one, no scale ever fixes it. Volume amplifies the problem.
// EXPLORE FURTHER