6 Startups That Shut Down This Year
also, a bad news for you...
Happy Wednesday!
They say, "Opportunities don’t happen; you create them." Consider this newsletter your toolkit for creating incredible opportunities.
From startups reimagining industries to trends shaping Bharat’s business landscape, this midweek edition is your guide to staying sharp and motivated. Let’s make this hump day a highlight!
But first…
Top headlines of the day
📌 Mobikwik share price soars, debuting with an impressive 60% premium
📌 'Laapataa Ladies' misses out on Oscar shortlist
📌Maintaining the momentum in Bharat-US ties is becoming a challenging task
📌 Pushpa 2 rakes in ₹1,336.2 crore worldwide by Day 13
Startups that shut down this year
Let’s be real: the startup world isn’t all about unicorns and billion-dollar valuations. Behind every flashy funding headline, there are countless stories of struggle and, sometimes, shutdowns.
This year, six Indian startups we thought had great potential closed their doors. Why did they fail? And more importantly, what can we learn from them? Let’s break it down.
❌ Koo
Koo, launched as India’s answer to Twitter, initially received massive attention as it capitalized on India’s “Make in India” sentiment, securing 60 million downloads. With local content in various Indian languages, it seemed poised for success. But despite strong downloads, Koo struggled with monetization strategies, particularly in a space already dominated by Twitter (now X) and other social media platforms. Additionally, Koo failed to find a sustainable revenue model, which resulted in its inability to scale effectively. The lesson here? User engagement is key, but monetization is essential to keep a business afloat.
❌ Toplyne
Toplyne’s mission was to help SaaS companies convert their free users into paying customers. The idea seemed timely, considering the growing SaaS market in India. However, the SaaS industry quickly figured out ways to handle this problem internally, leaving Toplyne with limited opportunities for growth. The narrow focus, coupled with strong competition and the rapid pace of innovation in the SaaS world, led to its downfall. Toplyne’s struggle serves as a reminder that even in niches, scalability is crucial.
❌ Bluelearn
Bluelearn gained popularity as a student community platform, offering a space to connect, learn, and grow. However, the challenge lay in Bluelearn’s reliance on sponsorships as its primary revenue model, which was unstable and difficult to scale. Meanwhile, LinkedIn and other platforms started absorbing their audience, making it harder for Bluelearn to hold its ground. The key takeaway from Bluelearn's failure is the importance of having a business model that can generate consistent, scalable revenue—not just relying on sponsorships and a strong community base.
❌ Investmint
Investmint, aiming to provide personalized investment insights for retail investors, initially seemed like a promising player in the booming FinTech space. However, the market was already packed with well-established players like Zerodha and Groww, who were offering similar services with better resources and trust. Regulatory challenges added to the difficulties, and Investmint struggled to stand out in the crowded market. This highlights how entering saturated industries without clear differentiation can be a recipe for failure.
❌ My Tirth India
My Tirth India sought to modernize religious tourism by offering digital booking and information services for pilgrims. While it served a niche market, its biggest challenge was catering to an older demographic that preferred traditional, in-person services like travel agencies. Moreover, the seasonal nature of pilgrimage tourism made scaling operations difficult, especially when the demand was limited to certain times of the year. This serves as a reminder that niche markets with limited year-round demand may be harder to scale.
❌ GoldPe
GoldPe was another entrant in the digital gold market, aiming to make buying gold easier with the help of technology. However, major players like Paytm and PhonePe already provided similar services, with well-established user trust and broader market penetration. GoldPe lacked differentiation in a highly competitive space, leading to its inability to win over customers. This highlights the challenge of breaking into markets dominated by well-funded giants without offering something unique or exceptional.
So, that’s it from me today!
See ya 👋
