// startup autopsy

DoveBid

A century-old auctioneer couldn't survive its own digital pivot

timingAcqui-hire

Fatal mistake: DoveBid over-invested in a dot-com online auction pivot before enterprise buyers were ready to transact large industrial asset deals online.

Founded	1937
Closed	2009
Country	USA
Sector	Fintech

50%

Key Events Timeline

1937-01-01

FOUNDING

DoveBid founded as a traditional industrial asset auction company in the United States.

2000-03-01

PIVOT

DoveBid pivots to online B2B auction model, raising venture capital to digitize its industrial asset marketplace.

2003-07-01

FUNDING

DoveBid closes $13M funding round to expand online platform and national sales force.

2007-01-01

LAYOFF

DoveBid reduces headcount as online B2B auction growth falls short of projections and burn rate becomes unsustainable.

2009-01-01

SHUTDOWN

DoveBid acquired by Heritage Global Group, ending its independent operations after 72 years.

Full Analysis

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Documented cause

DoveBid, a 60-year-old industrial asset auctioneer, attempted a digital transformation pivot to online B2B auctions after raising $13M in funding. The company's core business model—facilitating auctions for ind...

ustrial assets—faced disruption as the startup pursued an aggressive online strategy to capture market share in the emerging digital auction space. However, the pivot ultimately failed due to slower-t

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€26M

Peak valuation

HypeCycle · MoatType · ResearchTags

DoveBid raised €13M before dovebid over-invested in a dot-com online auction pivot before enterprise buyers were ready to transact large industrial asset deals online. ended it. See the documented cause, verified lesson and all failure signals.

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Key Events Timeline

Documented cause

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