Last week an entrepreneur emailed me that he’s shutting down his startup and moving on. After working hard, spending many months on the idea, and over $100,000 of personal savings, it was clear that the business wasn’t going to be successful. There were a number of signs leading up to his decision.
Here are a few indicators to evaluate if it’s time to shut down a startup:
- Even after multiple iterations it’s clear that the product is a weak vitamin and not a pain killer
- Product / market fit appears close yet there’s little demand from customers (again, a vitamin)
- Customer requests are all over the place showing a lack of consistent market need
- Genuine passion for the customer and product has subsided
- Bonus: Achieving success and deciding to shut things down due to the stress (see Flappy Birds making $50,000/day and pulling the game)
Deciding to shut down a startup is a difficult decision. Once the decision is made, and the trigger is pulled, the result is a major sense of relief.
What else? What are some other indicators when deciding to shut down a startup?
– Founders cannot agree on strategy
– Increasing number of quality competitors with more budget
– Repeatedly missing forecasts
– Repeatedly running out of money…
Thought-provoking post! Loved the vitamin/pain killer analogy…
All the best,
Noelle
Thanks David for posting.
I’ve always heard the saying “Fail Fast” so you can move on to something else that might succeed. However I’ve got to think that’s harder said then done for there’s a thin line between tenacity and simply banging your head against the wall!
Cheers,
John
Thanks for sharing. This must be a really hard thing to face and do. I guess it points to doing as much research as possible before you start, but of course some things can’t be foreseen or planned for!