// startup autopsy
Howdy
The team standup bot that couldn't stand the competition
platform dependencySlow Death
Years-long decline before final shutdown · Fatal mistake: Howdy built its entire value proposition on top of Slack without a defensible moat, making it trivially replaceable once Slack and competitors offered similar native features.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Howdy founded to build conversational bots for team productivity on emerging messaging platforms.
FUNDING
Raised $1.5M to accelerate Slack bot development and grow customer base.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Launched updated standup automation features on Slack App Directory amid peak chatbot hype.
PIVOT
Attempted to broaden beyond standup bots into general team workflow automation as growth stalled.
SHUTDOWN
Howdy shut down operations after failing to achieve sustainable paid adoption in an increasingly crowded market.