// startup autopsy
Spontaneously
Spontaneous social discovery app that never found its crowd
marketfitSilent Shutdown
Quiet closure with no public announcement · Fatal mistake: Spontaneously underestimated the chicken-and-egg network effect problem inherent in hyper-local real-time social apps, launching without sufficient density of users in any single market.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Spontaneously founded in the USA to build a real-time hyper-local social event discovery platform.
FUNDING
Spontaneously raises seed funding to develop its mobile app and expand to initial launch cities.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Spontaneously launches its real-time local event discovery app, competing with Foursquare and Facebook Events.
PIVOT
Team pivots to focus on friend-based spontaneous hangout coordination after failing to attract strangers onto the platform.
SHUTDOWN
Spontaneously shuts down after running out of funding and failing to achieve sustainable engagement metrics.