What we can learn from the failure of these 12 Indian startups in 2017

Early-stage startups struggled to raise follow-up funding

Here are 12 of the biggest startup failures this year and lessons learned:

Stayzilla, RoomsTonite – budget accommodation

The most dramatic shutdown was that of seven-year-old Stayzilla, which had raised $33.5 million in funding and billed itself as India’s largest homestay network. It had to shut shop as it failed to monetise its business.

Last minute hotel booking app RoomsTonite also shut down for the same reason.

Taskbob – home services

Taskbob couldn't balance between quality assurance, scaling up, and razor-thin margins. So, it had to shut down.

Yumist, Eatonomist – food delivery

Yumist raised $3.4 million to deliver “homely food” at affordable prices. But, the goal of scaling profitably proved elusive.

Eatonomist, which had promised to deliver healthy gourmet meals to office desks, also shut down.

Overcart, Surpluss – refurbished goods marketplaces

Overcart is a five-year-old marketplace for over-stock, unboxed, refurbished, and pre-owned goods. It shut down, unable to manage costs.

Same was the fate of refurbished electronics goods marketplace Surpluss.

Kaaryah, Zafraa – fashion e-commerce

Kaaryah caught attention when it got backing from Ratan Tata. But, it couldn't raise follow-up capital over the past 18 months.

Cross-border e-commerce site Zafraa, also had to shut shop.

Finomena, Splitkart – fintech

Finomena aimed to give small loans to students and youngsters who lacked the required credit history for traditional loans. But, it failed to succeed due to a crowded market.

Splitkart, an app that enabled groups to split bills, too shut down owing to lack of capital.

Dial A Celeb – celebrity engagement

Dial A Celeb was an app promising to connect fans with celebrities for short video chats. It was short-lived as celebs preferred their own apps.

---

This is an excerpt of the article published on Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.