Death by Overfunding

Funding = Success, right? I wish it did. But entrepreneurial tracks are littered with carcasses of dead startups that were very well funded, some to the tune of hundreds of millions. As a case in point, watch this 2 minutes 31 second video: Death By Overfunding.

If you prefer to read instead of watching, read the Nasty Gal story here:
Death by Overfunding: Nasty Gal

And, here are three more stories of entrepreneurs whose startups have died because of their addiction to venture capital.

Each started with a promising business.

Then each went overboard in their quest for hyper growth without paying attention to fundamentals.

Death by Overfunding: Glam Media

Death by Overfunding: Gilt Groupe

Death by Overfunding: Fab.com

Unless you are a Facebook or a Google, a capital-efficient, scrappy strategy is your best bet for success.

If you are exploring funding, consider getting an experienced mentor first. Get a mentor who has seen many different scenarios and who knows how to anticipate what could happen next. Have no such relationship? Come and talk to me.

This segment is a part in the series : Death by Overfunding