EventVue posted to their blog a post mortem on why they failed. Even though they say most businesses fail within the first few years you never get to hear from them post-failure. It’s sad to see anyone’s dream die, but there are valuable lessons to be had when those who fail discuss what they feel went wrong. Anyhow a couple of tidbits I found insightful for other startups:

didn’t focus on learning & failing fast until it was too late

I love how they stated it as not just learning but failing fast too. We all learn from failures and knowing what clients don’t like is just as helpful as what they do.

made compromises in early hiring decisions – choose expediency over talent/competency

You always hear how your first hires are the ones that matter most. What position are you hiring for, how do they fit the team and culture you want to build, where do you see them growing as the company quickly grows?

Anyhow, I appreciate the founders of EventVue posting what they did. It’s hard to let your startup go and harder still to admit what you did wrong. I’m sure in the future those that they’ll go on to start up new ventures that go further.