// startup autopsy

Gifi

A social gifting game that nobody wanted to play.

marketfitSilent Shutdown

Quiet closure with no public announcement · Fatal mistake: Gifi launched into social gaming without a defensible niche, competing directly against Zynga and Facebook's own gifting features.

Founded	2010
Closed	2013
Country	USA
Sector	Gaming

50%

Key Events Timeline

2010-01-01

FOUNDING

Gifi founded in the USA, targeting the social gifting and gaming crossover market.

2010-06-01

FUNDING

Raised $1.2M in seed funding to build out its social gifting gaming platform.

2012-03-01

PRODUCT LAUNCH

Launched consumer product but struggled to differentiate amid Zynga and Facebook dominance.

2013-06-01

SHUTDOWN

Gifi quietly shut down after failing to achieve meaningful user growth or revenue.

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Documented cause

Gifi was a social gifting platform designed to integrate with gaming communities, but the startup failed to achieve meaningful traction in a highly competitive market. Operating in the social-gaming space domin...

ated by established players like Zynga, Gifi struggled with user acquisition and retention. With only $1.2 million in seed funding, the company lacked sufficient capital to sustain operations while bu

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€3M

Peak valuation

HypeCycle · MoatType · ResearchTags

Gifi raised €1.2M before gifi launched into social gaming without a defensible niche, competing directly against zynga and facebook's own gifting features. ended it. See the documented cause, verified lesson and all failure signals.

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Key Events Timeline

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