// STARTUP COMPARISON
Frubana vs Habitissimo
Frubana failed in 2023 due to Unit Economics. Habitissimo failed in 2020 due to Acquisition Gone Wrong. Different causes, different sectors, different eras — but the same simulation outcome.
| METRIC | 🔥 Frubana | 🔥 Habitissimo |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Marketplace | Marketplace |
| Country | Colombia | Spain |
| Founded | 2018 | 2009 |
| Died | 2023 | 2020 |
| Raised | $186M | €10M |
| Peak | $186M raised | €15M revenue |
| Primary Cause | Unit Economics | Acquisition Gone Wrong |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 Frubana
Unit Economics
Frubana built a B2B marketplace connecting restaurants with fresh produce suppliers across Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico. After raising $186M, the company struggled with the perishability economics of fresh produce — spoilage rates, last-mile cold chain costs, and the fragmented supplier base made unit economics unsolvable at the ticket sizes restaurants order. Frubana shut down in 2023.
// LESSON
Fresh produce supply chains have physics problems that capital cannot solve. Spoilage is a function of time and density. If you can't achieve minimum order density per zone before your runway runs out, the unit economics never improve.
Fresh produce supply chains have physics problems that capital cannot solve. Spoilage is a function of time and density. If you can't achieve minimum order density per zone before your runway runs out, the unit economics never improve.
🔥 Habitissimo
Acquisition Gone Wrong
Habitissimo was Spain and Latin America's leading home services marketplace, connecting homeowners with contractors. It was acquired by ANGI Homeservices (HomeAdvisor) in 2017. Post-acquisition, local product focus deteriorated, engineering teams were dispersed across ANGI's global structure, and Habitissimo's market position eroded as local competitors rebuilt trust with Spanish users.
// LESSON
Marketplace network effects are hyper-local. Trust cannot be managed remotely. Acquiring a marketplace and running it from another continent destroys the very thing that made it valuable.
Marketplace network effects are hyper-local. Trust cannot be managed remotely. Acquiring a marketplace and running it from another continent destroys the very thing that made it valuable.
// EXPLORE FURTHER