// STARTUP COMPARISON
NotCo (2023 crisis) vs Bodega
NotCo (2023 crisis) failed in 2023 due to Unit Economics. Bodega failed in 2018 due to Product Failure. Different causes, different sectors, different eras — but the same simulation outcome.
| METRIC | 🔥 NotCo (2023 crisis) | 🔥 Bodega |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Consumer | Consumer |
| Country | Chile | USA |
| Founded | 2015 | 2017 |
| Died | 2023 | 2018 |
| Raised | $350M | $2.5M |
| Peak | $1.5B valuation | $2.5M raised |
| Primary Cause | Unit Economics | Product Failure |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 NotCo (2023 crisis)
Unit Economics
NotCo, Chile's first and most prominent foodtech unicorn, used AI to create plant-based versions of animal products. It raised $350M and reached a $1.5B valuation. In 2023 the plant-based food category globally faced a sharp consumer demand decline — Beyond Meat's stock fell 80%. NotCo laid off over 30% of its workforce in 2023, cut SKUs, and exited several markets to focus on profitability.
// LESSON
Category demand is not in your control. You can build the best plant-based burger on earth — if consumers decide they'd rather have a real burger, no AI fixes the demand problem. Category bets require category timing bets.
Category demand is not in your control. You can build the best plant-based burger on earth — if consumers decide they'd rather have a real burger, no AI fixes the demand problem. Category bets require category timing bets.
🔥 Bodega
Product Failure
Bodega launched a pantry-box vending machine product and named it after the neighborhood bodegas it aimed to displace. A Fast Company article in September 2017 caused a PR disaster before launch. The product never gained traction. The company shut down within a year.
// LESSON
Your brand name is a thesis statement about the world you want to create. If that thesis offends the communities you need to operate in, you do not have a business.
Your brand name is a thesis statement about the world you want to create. If that thesis offends the communities you need to operate in, you do not have a business.
// EXPLORE FURTHER