500 Startups — portfolio autopsies

Thai fashion ecommerce pioneer raised $52M but sold to Central Group as Shein and Zalando squeezed

The EV charging network that funded itself with advertising screens raised $330M and filed for bankruptcy when the ad model never scaled to cover infrastructure costs.

Brazilian online education unicorn backed by General Atlantic that grew to millions of students during COVID and entered zombie mode when demand normalized.

Microsoft acquired Sunrise for $100M for its beautiful calendar design — then shut Sunrise 12 months later and launched Outlook Mobile with the same features

Israeli interactive video startup that raised $170M trying to make branching narratives mainstream.

The photo organization startup that built a better product than Google Photos — and ran out of money before anyone noticed

Andreessen Horowitz-backed premium remote work vacation rental startup raised $20M and shut down when it could not turn beautiful cabins into a profitable business.

Published its own financial autopsy showing $43K revenue, $350K/month burn, and 3 months runway — couldn't raise a $15M Series A and shut with the best product reviews of any photo app

Fashion rental subscription acquired Lord and Taylor department stores and collapsed in the pandemic

Pioneering US digital bank acquired by BBVA for 117 million dollars in 2014 and quietly killed seven years later when the acquirer decided it no longer fit the strategy.

Argentina's card issuing infrastructure startup strangled by the BCRA's fintech restrictions

Arab gaming's poster child hit by Apple's privacy wall and a collapsing ad market.

The online course marketplace that couldn't turn 60,000 courses into profits

SPAC'd at $1.6B, traded down 94% as pandemic pet adoption proved a one-time spike.

Sweden's food waste marketplace had the mission but Too Good To Go had the execution.

YC pedigree, $25M raised, and a founder misconduct scandal that no CFO service could clean up.

Elegant mobility devices for elderly and disabled users — a genuine social mission that didn't scale to VC returns.

Argentina's BCRA regulations and a parent company pivot ended Simple before it could prove its model.

The original neo-bank — killed not by the market but by the acquirer.

Bombfell competed with giants on a shoestring budget and quietly disappeared in the pandemic.

Brazil's leading SME accounting SaaS. Acquired by Visma. Trajectory ended.

$29.5M couldn't make retail investors care about municipal bonds.

Personalized gut health — until the FBI arrived

A beloved construction blueprint app sold for $875M then quietly dismantled by Autodesk.

The Latin American edtech that raised $36M for educational games — and fabricated six million active users to get there

Adventures for everyone — but the startup itself couldn't find its footing.

The startup intelligence platform that knew everything about other companies failing — except how to stop its own slow bleed

The original gig economy marketplace — saved by IKEA after a near-fatal pivot nearly destroyed it.

Ex-Hulu CEO raised $100M to build premium YouTube. Charged $3/month for early access to YouTube videos. YouTube made the creators say no. Sold for pennies.

Scheduling every package delivery to your apartment — a great idea at $3.1 million, untenable at scale

The best photo product ever built — shut down because 55,000 users wouldn't pay enough to sustain it

The best photo app that ever existed shut down because it could not raise $500K. 55,000 users lost their photos. Co-founders published every financial document.

The graphic design unicorn almost died at seed stage. 100 investor rejections.