Every business has its ups and downs. However, it is overly optimistic to think that your just-started business would hit the market running. It’s a possible dream, but the business might encounter some obstacles. Below are 3 startups that managed to raised millions but ultimately had to close the projects.
Failed Startups: DigiScents
DigiScents is a company founded by two partners with the mindset to astonish the world with their idea of the iSmell scent synthesizer. These two partners were Joel Lloyd Bellenson and Dexster Smith. They had the idea of using tech to transmit smells and perfumes through a gadget which would be connected and controlled by the computer.
This idea came to existence in the late 1990s as a result of a holiday in Miami, where the two founders experienced astonishment when they smelled different beach scents and fragrances. The two raised $20 million in funding for their company, DigiScents. However, the company failed to receive any recognition from the public; it did not meet any public need at the time.
Failed Startups: Blippy
Blippy was another company that raised funding and failed. It had $1.6 million of financing to launch itself, and the idea was that people would share their shopping comparisons through the Blippy site. However, the problem was that consumers shared their transaction history; then, there was the case of the public exposure of some credit card numbers. After this, the project struggled to find relevance and consumer engagement. It shut down in 2011.
Failed Startups: Shuddle
Shuddle raised over $12 million to back itself, but the business ultimately had to close. The idea of Shuddle was to enable parents to track the movements of taxi transportation that their children took to playdates, school, etc. It would help them to have peace of mind and make sure that the drivers were keeping their children safe. The idea sounded brilliant. However, the company ended up running out of capital in its quest for growth.
