// STARTUP COMPARISON
Heetch vs Aplazame
Heetch failed in 2023 due to Competition. Aplazame failed in 2022 due to Acquisition Gone Wrong. Different causes, different sectors, different eras — but the same simulation outcome.
| METRIC | 🔥 Heetch | 🔥 Aplazame |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Marketplace | Fintech |
| Country | France | Spain |
| Founded | 2013 | 2013 |
| Died | 2023 | 2022 |
| Raised | $50M | €15M |
| Peak | $100M valuation (2019) | Acquired by WiZink 2017 |
| Primary Cause | Competition | Acquisition Gone Wrong |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 Heetch
Competition
Heetch launched as a social ridesharing app for Paris nightlife. After a brief ban by French authorities in 2016 (subsequently reversed), it pivoted to a licensed private-hire model across France and North Africa. Heetch reached $100M valuation and 2M users in 2019. But Uber Eats' cross-sell to Uber rides made customer acquisition economics brutal: Uber was acquiring ride customers at €8 CAC via food delivery cross-sell; Heetch's standalone ride CAC was €35. Unable to raise a Series B in 2022 amid the tech funding drought, Heetch shut down French operations in Q1 2023.
// LESSON
You cannot win a customer acquisition war against a platform that subsidizes ride CAC from food delivery margins. Uber acquires ride customers for €8 via Uber Eats cross-sell. You need €35 to acquire the same customer standalone. This gap does not close with better product.
You cannot win a customer acquisition war against a platform that subsidizes ride CAC from food delivery margins. Uber acquires ride customers for €8 via Uber Eats cross-sell. You need €35 to acquire the same customer standalone. This gap does not close with better product.
🔥 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.
// EXPLORE FURTHER