In 1976, there were 1.3 million rocks in a box sold. The manual detailed the tricks the rock could do including sitting.
Ask Jeeves
In 2005, IAC acquired the company for $1.85B; pivoted to be a real-person Q&A site just before Google crushed them
My Space
In 2008, My Space failed due to rising competition, a buggy website, and an annoying user experience.
Blockbuster
In 1994, Viacom bought Blockbuster for $8.4 billion. In 2000, the year after its IPO, Blockbuster turned down an opportunity to buy Netflix for $50 million as it failed to recognize the opportunity to move online quick enough. In 2004, Blockbuster had 9000 stores and in 2019 only had one store in Bend, Oregon. The store in Bend is still open today and has over 400 thousand Twitter followers.
Jarts
In 1988, lawn darts with metal spikes were banned in America by the Consumer Product Safety Commission due to the severe danger they presented. These metal tip darts were thrown into the air like
oversized arrows. From 1978 to 1986 lawn darts were responsible for an estimated 6,100 hospital emergency-room treated injuries and even some fatalities.
Friendster
In 2009, Friendster had site performance issues, rising competition, executive turnover, and extensive content moderation. They expanded too quickly internationally before they had won the U.S. market.
Yellow
In 2023, enormous debt ($1.5B) accumulated over 20 years led to Yellow’s bankruptcy after nearly a century in business.
Anchor Brewing Company
In 2023, San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing, who was the oldest craft brewery in the U.S., ceased operations after 127 years. Revenue declined by two-thirds since 2016 due to changing consumer habits and a rebrand that pivoted too far away from it’s classic look.
FTX
FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, once valued at $32B in January 2022, scammed billions from crypto-currency users. The company had built its business on risky trading options that are not legal in the U.S. It was discovered that customer funds went to accounts controlled by Alameda Research — a cryptocurrency trading firm headquartered in Hong Kong and also founded by Bankman-Fried — instead of FTX. After this revelation and the value of cryptocurrency dropping significantly, FTX began to unravel. FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022, after a surge of customer withdrawals earlier in the month. The company didn’t have sufficient assets in reserve to meet customer demand. FTX crashed due to mismanagement of funds, lack of liquidity and the large volume of withdrawals.
Microsoft Kin
In 2010, after spending $1B and 2 years in development, Microsoft killed the Kin after only 6 weeks due to poor customer feedback. For instance, consumers weren’t allowed to download apps to the phone, while the data plans were cost prohibitive.