Would You Fund It?

Every pitch in the deck

Spoilers: this page lists every company and how it turned out. Play first: today’s five.

🦄 Breakout 24

A $1 billion+ outcome: an acquisition, an IPO, or a private valuation of at least $1 billion.

CompanyPitch yearStageWhat happened
Zappos1999SeedAmazon bought it in July 2009 in an all-stock deal worth about $1.2 billion.
YouTube2005SeedGoogle bought it in November 2006 for $1.65 billion.
Dropbox2007SeedIt went public on Nasdaq in 2018.
Airbnb2008SeedIt became a public company in December 2020, raising $3.5 billion in its IPO.
Waze2008SeedGoogle bought it in June 2013 for about $1.3 billion.
WhatsApp2009SeedFacebook bought it in February 2014 for about $19.3 billion.
Instagram2010SeedIt reached 10 million users in a year, and Facebook bought it in April 2012 for about $1 billion.
Nest Labs2010SeedGoogle bought it in January 2014 for $3.2 billion.
Stripe2010SeedIt became the largest private fintech company, valued at about $159 billion.
Dollar Shave Club2011SeedUnilever bought it in July 2016 for a reported $1 billion in cash.
Zoom2011SeedIt went public on Nasdaq in April 2019.
Duolingo2011Private betaIt was valued at $1.5 billion by 2019 and went public on Nasdaq in 2021.
Chewy2011SeedPetSmart bought it in 2017 for $3.35 billion, then the largest e-commerce acquisition ever.
Oculus VR2012KickstarterFacebook agreed to buy it in 2014 for about $2 billion.
Coinbase2012SeedIt became a public company on Nasdaq in April 2021.
Peloton2012SeedIt went public in September 2019 at an $8.1 billion valuation (and later lost much of it).
Instacart2012SeedIt went public in September 2023, valued at about $10 billion.
Doorbot (later Ring)2013TV pitchAmazon bought the company, renamed Ring, in 2018 for about $1.15 billion.
Slack2013PivotIt went public in 2019, and Salesforce bought it in 2021 for $27.7 billion.
Canva2013SeedIt was valued at A$1 billion by 2018 and peaked at US$40 billion in 2021.
Robinhood2013SeedIt went public on Nasdaq in July 2021, valued at about $32 billion.
DoorDash2013SeedIt went public in December 2020, raising $3.37 billion in its IPO.
Figma2013SeedIt was valued at more than $2 billion by 2020, and Adobe agreed to buy it for about $20 billion in 2022 (the deal was later abandoned).
Jet.com2014SeedWalmart bought it in August 2016 for $3.3 billion.

✅ Success 18

Acquired, or a lasting business with sizeable sales, below the $1 billion mark.

CompanyPitch yearStageWhat happened
Flickr2004SeedYahoo bought it in 2005 for a reported $22 million to $25 million.
Justin.tv (later Twitch)2007SeedIt refocused on video-game streaming as Twitch, and Amazon bought it in 2014 for $970 million.
Bonobos2007SeedWalmart bought it in 2017 for $310 million.
Mint.com2007SeedIntuit bought it in 2009 for $170 million.
Notehall2009TV pitchThe company was sold to the education company Chegg in 2011 for about $3.7 million in equity.
Wunderlist2010SeedMicrosoft bought its maker in June 2015 for between $100 million and $200 million.
Scrub Daddy2012TV pitchWith a TV investor's help it reached TV shopping and national retailers; by May 2023 it had more than $926 million in retail sales, among the highest of any product pitched on the show.
Cousins Maine Lobster2012TV pitchIt grew into a franchised food-truck business with locations across the US.
Talbott Teas2012TV pitchIn January 2012 the smoothie chain Jamba Juice bought certain assets of the business for $400,000 in cash plus performance payments.
ReadeREST2012TV pitchAfter the show it sold through TV shopping and national retailers including Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart and Ace Hardware.
Vine2012Pre-launchTwitter bought it four months after it was founded, for $30 million, before launch. Twitter shut the app down in 2017.
Quip2012SeedSalesforce bought it in 2016 for an estimated $750 million.
Mailbox2012Pre-launchDropbox bought the company in March 2013, weeks after launch. Dropbox shut the app down in 2015.
Tipsy Elves2013TV pitchBy 2018 the company had reportedly done more than $70 million in sales.
Ten Thirty One Productions2013TV pitchRevenue reached about $3 million in 2014, and the company was later bought by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, the largest haunted-house operator.
Kodiak Cakes2014TV pitchSales nearly doubled the next year, and in 2021 the private equity firm L Catterton bought a majority stake.
Cruise2014SeedGeneral Motors bought it in 2016 for an undisclosed sum, estimated at $580 million to over $1 billion. GM later shut its robotaxi business in 2024.
Coffee Meets Bagel2015TV pitchIt raised a $7.8 million Series A weeks later and kept growing; by 2024 its revenue was estimated at about $36 million a year.

💥 Bust 34

Shut down, bankrupt, or sold off for a fraction of the money put in.

CompanyPitch yearStageWhat happened
Webvan1997Series AIt filed for bankruptcy in July 2001 after losing more than $800 million.
Pets.com1999Series AIt shut down in November 2000, about two years after launch.
Kozmo.com1999GrowthIt raised about $250 million and was out of business by April 2001.
Boo.com1999Series AIt spent $135 million in about 18 months and went into receivership in May 2000.
Theranos2004SeedIt raised more than $700 million and reached a $9 billion valuation, then collapsed amid fraud; it dissolved in 2018.
Better Place2008Series AIt spent about $850 million, filed for bankruptcy in May 2013, and its remaining assets sold for $450,000.
Solyndra2009GrowthIt filed for bankruptcy in September 2011.
Fisker Automotive2009GrowthBattery recalls and supplier troubles followed, and the company went bankrupt in 2013.
Rdio2010LaunchIt filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2015 and sold assets to Pandora for $75 million.
Quirky2010Series AIt raised more than $160 million, including from General Electric, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2015.
Jawbone2011GrowthIt stopped making fitness trackers and was liquidated in July 2017.
Fab2011PivotIt was once valued at over $1 billion; its assets were sold in 2015 for an undisclosed sum.
Pebble2012KickstarterIt became the most funded Kickstarter campaign of its time, but filed for insolvency in December 2016 and sold most of its assets to Fitbit.
Aereo2012LaunchAfter losing at the US Supreme Court in 2014 it filed for bankruptcy; TiVo bought its assets for $1 million.
Breathometer2013TV pitchIn 2017 the US Federal Trade Commission charged that the company knew the device often under-reported blood alcohol and had made false accuracy claims. The app was shut down and customers were offered full refunds.
Homejoy2013SeedIt shut down on July 31, 2015.
Clinkle2013SeedIt never delivered a viable product and shut down in 2016.
Anki2013Series BIt went bankrupt in April 2019 after losing a critical round of funding.
uBiome2013SeedIt filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after an FBI raid; the SEC later charged two co-founders with defrauding investors.
Juicero2014SeedIt raised $120 million, cut the price to $399 after slow sales, and ceased operations in 2017.
Secret2014Series AIts founder shut it down in April 2015.
Yik Yak2014SeedIt shut down in May 2017; its assets were sold for about $1 million.
Shyp2014Series AIt cut most of its staff in 2017 and shut down in 2018.
Lily Robotics2015Pre-ordersIt never shipped the drone, refunded customers and filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
Munchery2015Series CIt was valued at about $300 million and shut down abruptly in January 2019.
Doppler Labs2015Series BIt wound down and closed in December 2017.
Essential Products2016Series AIt was valued as a unicorn in 2017 and closed in February 2020.
Zume2016Series AIt shifted to food packaging in 2020 and shut down in June 2023.
Katerra2016Series AIt took $835 million from SoftBank in 2018 and filed for bankruptcy in June 2021.
Convoy2016Series AIt was valued at $1 billion in 2018, then shut down in November 2023; Flexport took its assets.
HQ Trivia2017LaunchIts games were discontinued in February 2020.
Quibi2018Pre-launchIt raised $1.75 billion, launched in April 2020 and shut down that December. Its library sold to Roku for under $100 million.
Bird2018Series AIt was valued at $2 billion in 2018; it was sold in 2024 to avoid bankruptcy.
FTX2019Series BIt was valued at $32 billion and collapsed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022.