// STARTUP COMPARISON
Silicon Valley Bank vs Quibi
Silicon Valley Bank failed in 2023 due to Unit Economics. Quibi failed in 2020 due to Bad Timing. Different causes, different sectors, different eras — but the same simulation outcome.
| METRIC | 🔥 Silicon Valley Bank | 🔥 Quibi |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Fintech | Media |
| Country | USA | USA |
| Founded | 1983 | 2018 |
| Died | 2023 | 2020 |
| Raised | Public company (SIVB) | $1.75B |
| Peak | $209B assets | $1.75B raised |
| Primary Cause | Unit Economics | Bad Timing |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 Silicon Valley Bank
Unit Economics
Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March 2023 after a bank run driven by duration mismatch. SVB had invested deposits in long-duration bonds during low-rate periods. When rates rose, those bonds lost value. SVB announced a $1.8B loss on bond sales and a capital raise — triggering a $42B bank run in 24 hours. The FDIC seized SVB on March 10, 2023 — the second-largest bank failure in US history.
// LESSON
Asset-liability duration matching is not optional for banks. Investing short-term deposits in long-term bonds is a structural bet against rising rates. SVB had $80B in long-duration bonds when the Fed began the fastest rate rise cycle in 40 years.
Asset-liability duration matching is not optional for banks. Investing short-term deposits in long-term bonds is a structural bet against rising rates. SVB had $80B in long-duration bonds when the Fed began the fastest rate rise cycle in 40 years.
🔥 Quibi
Bad Timing
Quibi launched April 6, 2020 — two weeks after global COVID lockdowns began. The product was designed for commuters watching short videos on phones. With everyone at home on TVs, the core use case vanished. Quibi shut down in October 2020 after 6 months, returning $350M to investors.
// LESSON
No capital fixes a product designed for a world that no longer exists at launch. Market timing is not a growth problem — it is an existence problem.
No capital fixes a product designed for a world that no longer exists at launch. Market timing is not a growth problem — it is an existence problem.
// EXPLORE FURTHER