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Why Most Startups Fail Before They Even Start Let’s be real: Startups don’t fail because of bad ideas; they fail because founders skip the basics. It’s like throwing a party but forgetting to send out invitations. Great setup, but no guests! Common Startup Killers: - Building for yourself, not the market - "If we build it, they will come" (Hint: they won’t) - Burning cash like a billionaire on a shopping spree - No real business model—just vibes - Ignoring early red flags thinking they’ll "fix it later" Case Study: Quibi – $1.75 Billion Gone in 6 Months Quibi was the Hollywood-backed, short-form video streaming app no one asked for. It had a dream team of Jeffrey Katzenberg (Disney legend) and Meg Whitman (ex-CEO of HP) with a pocket of $1.75 billion. Yet, it shut down faster than a bad Netflix show. What Went Wrong? - They built for themselves, not the market. They assumed people wanted "premium short videos." It turns out that TikTok already had that: it was free and addictive. - Zero shareability: No screenshots, no social sharing. Imagine making content in 2020 and not letting it go viral. Genius. - Cash burn without product-market fit: Big-budget Hollywood productions before proving people even wanted them? Classic blunder. - Bad monetization strategy: Quibi charged a subscription fee in a world where short-form content was already free. - They ignored red flags: Even when downloads tanked, they doubled down instead of pivoting. Let’s Discuss - What do you think was Quibi’s biggest mistake? - If you were in their shoes, how would you have done it differently? Let’s talk in the comments! Up Next: WeWork: The $47B Startup That Never Worked!