5 well-funded startups that failed

Author - Dushyant TyagiDushyant Tyagi
May 20, 2017
5 well-funded startups that failed

Failure rate of startups is so high that the default state of a startup is considered to be failed. It is not a location based scenario but global.


Most of the times we only hear about the startups that succeed.Other 90% of the startups are forgotten not to be talked about. But the ones that got a considerable funding, creative ideas, and good market but still failed, worth discussing.


1. AskMe


Askme came into existence as a hyperlocal e-commerce startup. Funded by only investor AstroHoldings faced the fate of being failed. Astro refused to exit the business or infuse more capital, that eventually locked Askme to raise more money or to continue the operations. As per AskMe CMO ManavSethi:


“Astro is pulling out of all business and its investments in India because of the political and legal issues. AskMe Group has made a management buyout bid and leadership team is working towards taking over the company.”


Single investor, Cash crunch and weak technology became the reasons why AskMe failed.


2. Powa Technologies


PowaTag was a mobile payment app allowing users to make purchases directly from mobiles. It was an e-commerce startup, founded in 2007 by Dan Wagner and valued $2.6 Billion in 2014. Powa received lot of exposure and highest series A funding ever in tech startups.



Failure of Powa is counted in one of the biggest tech failures. Apparently lot of blame game was played but real reasons of failure are still not clear.

3. FranklyMe



A good idea turned in a startup company that got lot of attention and funds. FranklyMe was a kind of video based social media. Big names Arvind Kejriwal, JavedAkhtar started associating with Frankly.me but couldn’t save the fate of this great idea and company.


Why they closed in the words of frankly.me co-founder Nikunj Jain

4. Peppertap



Peppertap, one of India’s largest grocery startups, decided to shut down in April 2016. One of the highest fund raising startups of India, raised around $55 Million.




A company runs on the revenue generated by the business but in case of Peppertap, no considerable revenue was being generated. Instead, VC’s money was being burnt in heavy discounts that costed Peppertap to be a failure.

5. Fashionara


A fashion startup that was considered to be most promising after Zovi.Fashionara was founded by renowned players of Reliance Trends and Times Internet, finally closed in May 2016. Fashionara raised $4 Million from Helion Venture and Lightspeed Ventures.


Main reason of failure was deep discounts on the products that eventually resulted in a cash crunch.



Last Modified: May 20, 2017
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