How to Fail With 100,000 Users and Millions of Investment

by / ⠀Funding / August 22, 2010
blow-up-explosion

Image: dirk_pepperd via Flickr

The War Room on Business Insider ran a story on how the startup GoCrossCampus.com received millions of funding and tons of users but still failed. The founders admitted they made some key mistakes or as they said “We f*cked this up ourselves.”

It goes to show that there is much more to running a business then just getting money and users. You have to create something sustainable and profitable. Many people think big numbers means big success but they are wrong. Think about how much money was invested in facebook just for it to make a dollar (100s of millions) and even twitter now. While so many small business are profitable at the start. Maybe they aren’t making millions but $50,000 in profit is still more then many companies were and are making with millions of users.

GoCrossFire.com Keys to Failure:

  • “You don’t have a company, you have a job”
  • “We were developing for no, and just right now”
  • “We should have waited to launch”
  • “Many testers were family and friends, making feedback personal and difficult”
  • “Too many chefs in the kitchen”
  • “We should have gone after one, not two markets”
  • “College kids spend money on booze, clothers and more booze”
  • “Startups are like Anna Karenina”
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About The Author

Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson is Co-Founder of Under30Experiences, a travel company for young people ages 21-35. He is the original Co-founder of Under30CEO (Acquired 2016). Matt is the Host of the Live Different Podcast and has 50+ Five Star iTunes Ratings on Health, Fitness, Business and Travel. He brings a unique, uncensored approach to his interviews and writing. His work is published on Under30CEO.com, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post, Reuters, and many others. Matt hosts yoga and fitness retreats in his free time and buys all his food from an organic farm in the jungle of Costa Rica where he lives. He is a shareholder of the Green Bay Packers.

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