// STARTUP COMPARISON
Fast vs Clínica Sim
Fast failed in 2022 due to Unit Economics. Clínica Sim failed in 2023 due to Unit Economics. Both failed for the same reason — Unit Economics.
| METRIC | 🔥 Fast | 🔥 Clínica Sim |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Fintech | Healthtech |
| Country | USA | Brazil |
| Founded | 2019 | 2019 |
| Died | 2022 | 2023 |
| Raised | $580M | $40M |
| Peak | $580M raised | $150M valuation (2022) |
| Primary Cause | Unit Economics | Unit Economics |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 Fast
Unit Economics
Fast raised $580M for a one-click checkout product. Internal reports cited by TechCrunch revealed the company had approximately $600K in monthly revenue against $10M+ in monthly burn — a 17x revenue-to-burn mismatch. Unable to raise a Series C in the 2022 market, Fast shut down in April 2022. Stripe had already launched Stripe Link (a competing product) and Shopify Payments dominated the checkout space.
// LESSON
$580M raised is not a business. $600K monthly revenue against $10M monthly burn is a company racing toward zero. No amount of capital fixes a 17x revenue-to-burn ratio in a checkout category dominated by Stripe and Shopify.
$580M raised is not a business. $600K monthly revenue against $10M monthly burn is a company racing toward zero. No amount of capital fixes a 17x revenue-to-burn ratio in a checkout category dominated by Stripe and Shopify.
🔥 Clínica Sim
Unit Economics
Clínica Sim was a Brazilian telehealth platform offering $5 video consultations, subsidized by partnerships with health insurance plans (operadoras). The business model required health plan partners to pay a per-consultation fee, but Brazilian operadoras saw telehealth as a cost-saving tool and negotiated fees down from $12 to $4 per consultation over 18 months. With unit economics inverted — $5 consultation cost vs. $4 plan revenue — and B2C patients unwilling to pay $10+, the company raised a bridge in 2022 and shut in 2023.
// LESSON
Never build a B2B2C model where the B decides the price and the C is too price-sensitive to cover the shortfall. Health insurance companies have pricing power and procurement teams — startups do not.
Never build a B2B2C model where the B decides the price and the C is too price-sensitive to cover the shortfall. Health insurance companies have pricing power and procurement teams — startups do not.
// EXPLORE FURTHER