// STARTUP COMPARISON
Restorando vs Habitissimo
Restorando failed in 2016 due to Acquisition Gone Wrong. Habitissimo failed in 2020 due to Acquisition Gone Wrong. Both failed for the same reason — Acquisition Gone Wrong.
| METRIC | 🔥 Restorando | 🔥 Habitissimo |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Marketplace | Marketplace |
| Country | Argentina | Spain |
| Founded | 2011 | 2009 |
| Died | 2016 | 2020 |
| Raised | $18M | €10M |
| Peak | 5,000 restaurants | €15M revenue |
| Primary Cause | Acquisition Gone Wrong | Acquisition Gone Wrong |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 Restorando
Acquisition Gone Wrong
Restorando was a restaurant discovery and reservation platform operating across 8 Latin American countries with 5,000 restaurant partners. TripAdvisor acquired it in 2014 to expand into Latin America. By 2016, TripAdvisor had integrated Restorando's restaurant data into its main platform and shut down the independent product. The local team was dispersed and the brand was retired.
// LESSON
When a global platform acquires a local marketplace, understand what they are actually buying: the product, the team, or the data. If it is the data, the product will be shut down once the migration is complete.
When a global platform acquires a local marketplace, understand what they are actually buying: the product, the team, or the data. If it is the data, the product will be shut down once the migration is complete.
🔥 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