#StartupFail: The Rise and Fall of Two Egotistical Co-Founders
Hey there! Can you believe the wild ride I had working for a $10M start-up that ended up facing bankruptcy? Let me tell you all about it, grab a seat!
### The Start of Success and the Downfall
So, these two co-founders were all about the hype and not so much about the actual product. They spent loads of money on courses, retreats, and even a documentary that didn’t bring in a single sale. 🤯
### Self-Proclaimed Industry Leaders
They were so high on their own marketing assets that they neglected actually improving the service. When the economy took a hit, their lack of foresight became glaringly apparent. Turns out, luck and confidence can only take you so far.
### Layoffs and Unprofessionalism
The layoffs began, and as a survivor of round one, I saw the chaos unfold. The bosses had no plan for offboarding, making their unprofessionalism crystal clear. 🤦♂️
### More Grievances and Red Flags
From emotionally manipulative company retreats to creepy comments and false self-made stories, these bosses were a handful. Their macho money analogies didn’t save them from financial ruin.
### Moving Forward
I made my exit and never looked back. The toxic grindset marketing mentality needs to go, and I’m glad to be out of that industry.
### Conclusion
The saga of two egotistical co-founders running a $10M start-up into the ground is a cautionary tale for all entrepreneurs. Remember, it’s not about the hype, but the value you provide to your clients. 🚀
Share your thoughts and experiences below! #StartupLife #LessonsLearned #FailForward 😎
What company? What product?
Can you dm me the name, too, please?
Nonprofit startup founder here, I’d love to know too just to know what to avoid as we face a small amount of success
I have a hunch…would you mind DMing me as well? Just curious.
Similar experience to mine. These guys burnt $75M of venture funding and still couldn’t get a viable business model. Everything was great when there was VC money and growth at all costs mentality but once that dries up and businesses need to actually add value and be profitable that’s when all these fairytale startups choke and die.
It sounds so wework school sorta.
Even if they go under I bet they don’t end up on the streets
This sounds like Tom Haverford and entertainment 720…
DM company name too please.
Marketing has more douches than most fields I’ve ever worked with.
Love you to DM me the company mines similar tbh ….
I see stuff like this in job ads and stuff marketed towards potential employees. Companies that take the entire staff to some tropical island for a retreat every year. There was one that said they all travel together going on exotic trips throughout the year as working vacations. Ones that have huge annual company week long meetings where they haul in everyone from across the globe for this corporate pep retreat. These all scream burning money to me. None of these were huge corporations with massive amounts of money. These were startups, small tech companies etc.
If they are burning money on things like this what else are they wasting money on and when does this all run out?
OP…was by chance either founder from Cincinnati?
Elon?
It took me way too long to realize the our business culture just isn’t equipped to deal with two types of people.
1. Stupid people with money
2. Greedy people with high opinions of themselves
The intersection of these two groups causes a tremendous amount of waste and efficiency in the economy.
Things I’ve seen:
1. Older folks playing shell games, trying to keep checks from investors clearing just long enough to reach retirement. This typically involves grandiose promises that will be impossible to keep, alongside waves of excuses (it’s the economy! Not us!). When the company inevitably does fail and everyone ELSE is screwed, they go on LinkedIn and become “thought leaders” and “mentors” – obsessed with how amazing they are despite being retired and unemployable.
2. Complete idiots who are running companies due to nepotism, fraternity connections, and so on. These companies bleed money and are abject failures, but serve the very perplexing purpose of “giving my daughter’s idiot husband something to do (a company to run into the ground) so she doesn’t bother me about him” – which one of those things only the ultra-rich have to worry about.
3. Executives locked in golden handcuffs marching towards the impending sale of the company. No matter how bad things are, they literally zone out as if hypnotized, because for legal reasons they can not acknowledge bad news publicly. Instead, they look out for their own interests by gutting the company’s assets and sabotaging its long-term prospects in order to make it look better on paper for the pending sale. Then, the sale happens and they ride off into the sunset with obscene bonus checks for their trouble.
4. The same company sold like clockwork every 2-3 years between different owners, all of whom walk in convinced that they can find savings and efficiencies (e.g. layoffs) and re-sell the company for more money. After the 4th or 5th time the hot potato is passed, the company is in such poor condition that its necessary to out-right mislead future owners in order to convince someone else to except it before it explodes.
I worked at a place that got a huge buyout offer but the boss said “no we’re going to be the next [insert industry leader here].” I would have made bank instead I got nothing and they sold for peanuts years later.
I just want the link to the you tube documentary.
Burn the owners on LinkedIn. Anytime they post some bull on LinkedIn ask a question about why their business failed and they couldn’t implement what they’re posting.
I don’t need to know the company- just want to say that this situation is so SO similar to one I was in. Narcissistic owner hired a videographer for a reality show trial- never was picked up. Asked all of the executives to do an on camera interview- I always made an excuse.
Initially built an amazing business but success went to their head and eventually it all went south. They walked away will millions (buy out) but it wasn’t the ending they had mapped out- escorted out by security and destroyed so many people in the process.
Pride comes before the fall.
Do people even care that much about Russel Brunson? As a guy who has done grappling most of my life, seeing a pudgy white guy who’s clearly never been in a fight, wearing an American Fighter shirt makes me not want to buy what he’s selling.
Pls give me link, I really wanna laugh at them
I worked at a marketing firm in Chicago. It wasn’t as bad as this place, but the stuff I’ve experienced…
I bet I know the company… are you in the high ticket coaching space by any chance?
DM company, please. I’m a videographer, interesting to see example of that work. Also, if you know, can you tell me approximately cost of that work?
Foxtrot is that you? Lol
Marketing is effectively worthless to a company’s success. Buisness leaders who buy into “marketing” are almost always going to waste massive amounts of money for no benefit.
I worked in a different start up that is now probably doing their exit strategy. They had what feels like endless rounds of funding (I stopped counting at round D) and I said then already “that’s gonna backfire really badly, even as a unicorn 🦄”
They burned through the money by aquiring whole other companies in the sector, technology that was remotely relevant and made weird, expensive decisions in the day to day business.
Now the investors want to see cash. Guess what, merging with a competitor wasn’t enough. Now they had to massively cut back their staff and obviously they fired almost all the blue collars but also some middle management had to go.
Blue collar work was outsourced and the mid management’s work was just dumped on those managers who stayed. Our team was offered to do the same job under our own company name but the money they offered didn’t even pay our previous salaries, let alone any business expenses. So we turned down and decided to watch this dumpster fire go down.
They actually found someone doing it for that money but they have no clue what they are doing and the boss doesn’t even listen to advise from our experienced team because he knows better. 😂
My former department looks really crappy now already, I don’t think they’ll survive the season here. 😂 I don’t care!
There are several episodes of the Better Offline podcast that outline scenarios like this one. [Here is an example. ](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-better-offline-150284547/episode/how-managers-are-breaking-the-internet-170303537/)
Sounds like an agency. Fuck that entire industry and it’s bullshit culture. I just took a job in a totally different field for slightly less money and could not be more excited.
Reminds me of the Pity City lady.
OP, you haven’t mentioned the intense satisfaction of seeing their company crash and burn.Cummoonn!
Sounds suspiciously like C&C
What company? I’m so in need of a laugh
And OP? She is Mike Enmertraut