Author | Lightnews

Ram Gangisetty

@ramgangisetty.bsky.social

140 followers 130 following 930 posts

As a recovering failed startup founder, I study failed startups and reveal why 90% of startups FAIL ☠️ . Learn from their mistakes and …. DON’T be one of them 🚫. Start here 👉: https://startupobituary.com/ 📍Silicon Valley

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Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jan 25

🚨 Startup Failure Trends 2025: A Thread 🚨

Failure Rates

1. Approximately 90% of startups fail overall
2. 21% of startups fail in the first year
3. 30% fail within two years
4. 50% fail by the fifth year
5. 65% fail within the first ten years

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Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Aug 29

Great on you for being vulnerable.

If I may, what caused each of these projects to fail?

1 1

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Aug 24

Ideally both but if I have to choose one then I’d go with distribution coz you can test, iterate and get feedback faster to improve the product.

1 2

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Aug 16

Startup Obituary : Astra

AI sales startup that couldn’t close its own deal

startupobituary.com/p/astra

Startup Obituary : Astra

The AI sales agent that couldn't close its own deal

startupobituary.com

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Aug 13

a man in a suit and tie is holding a microphone and saying can i get an amen !

ALT: a man in a suit and tie is holding a microphone and saying can i get an amen !

media.tenor.com

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Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 4

Experiment Boldly, But Plan for Profit
🚀 Sip’s innovative curation captivated users, but lacking a clear revenue model led to its downfall. Build your vision with a plan for profit!
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/sip
#StartupLessons #Monetization #Innovation

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 3

Your Best Feature Can Be Replaced
📞 Free international calls made Skype famous, but WhatsApp & FaceTime made it easier. Never rely on a single unique feature.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/skype
CompetitiveEdge #ProductStrategy #StartupLessons

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 3

📣 “Execution > Pedigree.”
Even the inventor of Android couldn’t save Essential.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/essential
#founderlessons #startup

Startup Obituary : Essential

Essential Products: The Rise and Fall of Andy Rubin’s Smartphone Vision. Inside the PH-1’s Bold Design, Record-Breaking Funding, and the Corporate Missteps That Doomed a Silicon Valley Unicorn

startupobituary.com

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 3

Every startup should aim for balance: Marketing, product development, and customer experience ALL matter. ⚖️ InVision’s imbalance was its undoing. #StartupSuccess
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/invision

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 3

Tomorrow's Startup Obituary post is about AI company that had great mission, founder and backing and success- yet it closed down. Find out about L1ght in tomorrow's edition of StartupObituary

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 3

💥 Raised $330M
💎 Unicorn status pre-launch
📦 Sprint-only distribution
End result? Shutdown in 2020.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/essential
#founderfailures #startup

Startup Obituary : Essential

Essential Products: The Rise and Fall of Andy Rubin’s Smartphone Vision. Inside the PH-1’s Bold Design, Record-Breaking Funding, and the Corporate Missteps That Doomed a Silicon Valley Unicorn

startupobituary.com

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 3

Andy Rubin invented Android.
Then he raised $330M to reinvent the phone.
It was beautiful. Bold.
And then—Essential shut down.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/essential
#startup #hardware #founderlessons

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 2

Hardware isn’t just hard.
It’s brutal.
Essential proves that beauty alone can’t sell devices.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/essential
#hardware #tech

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 2

“When the competition is innovating faster than you, you’re already losing. ⏳ InVision’s V7 delays opened the door for Figma’s success. Speed matters! #TechLeadership #Execution
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/invision%E...

Startup Obituary : InVision

The Rise and Fall of a Design Collaboration Pioneer

startupobituary.com

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 2

🔥 🔥 Just published 🔥 🔥

Startup Obituary : Olive

AI Must Work, Not Just Sound Good
🤖 Olive AI promised full automation, but human intervention was still needed. Don’t overhype tech—deliver real value.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/olive
#AIHype #ProductExecution #StartupLessons

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 2

👎 Bad camera at launch
🧩 No app ecosystem
📣 No marketing muscle
📦 Weak carrier support
That’s how unicorns die.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/essential
#startupexecution #VCfailures

Startup Obituary : Essential

Essential Products: The Rise and Fall of Andy Rubin’s Smartphone Vision. Inside the PH-1’s Bold Design, Record-Breaking Funding, and the Corporate Missteps That Doomed a Silicon Valley Unicorn

startupobituary.com

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 2

Zume had a robot named Pepe. Another named Marta.
But no one cared—because the pizza sucked.
👉 UX > gimmicks.
startupobituary.com/p/zume
#ProductFirst #StartupAdvice

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 2

The team behind Essential built one of the most admired devices in Android history.
But no one bought it.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/essential
#startuptruth #founderfail

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 1

📱 The Essential Phone launched with a titanium frame, ceramic back, and the world’s first notch.
Sales? Just 150,000 units.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/essential
#startuplife #productlaunch #techhistory

Startup Obituary : Essential

Essential Products: The Rise and Fall of Andy Rubin’s Smartphone Vision. Inside the PH-1’s Bold Design, Record-Breaking Funding, and the Corporate Missteps That Doomed a Silicon Valley Unicorn

startupobituary.com

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 1

The product was personal.
🙏 Faith. Family. Filtered content.
VidAngel built around deep values.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/vidangel
#Startup #Founder

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 1

The market turned.
Investors ghosted.
The burn rate didn’t stop.
Reali collapsed in months.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/reali
#startupcrash #vc

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 1

🎯 Lesson: Validate before you scale. Fast’s rapid growth without solid market fit strained operations. What startups can learn 👉 startupobituary.beehiiv.com/p/startup-ob... #StartupAdvice #Growth

Startup Obituary: Fast

How a One-Click Checkout Startup Burned $124.5 Million in Pursuit of E-Commerce Glory

startupobituary.beehiiv.com

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 1

Essential’s PH-1 had the first notch.
Apple copied it.
But Apple sold 200M phones.
Essential sold 150k.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/essential
#startuphype #techfail

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 1

Essential’s PH-1 had the first notch.
Apple copied it.
But Apple sold 200M phones.
Essential sold 150k.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/essential
#startuphype #techfail

Ram Gangisetty @ramgangisetty.bsky.social · Jun 1

Essential raised from Amazon, Tencent, and Playground.
Unicorn status in year two.
But execution?
Never got past the prototype stage.
🔗 startupobituary.com/p/essential
#venturecapital #startuplessons

Startup Obituary : Essential

Essential Products: The Rise and Fall of Andy Rubin’s Smartphone Vision. Inside the PH-1’s Bold Design, Record-Breaking Funding, and the Corporate Missteps That Doomed a Silicon Valley Unicorn

startupobituary.com