5 Most Recent Startup Failures in India

The Indian startup ecosystem has witnessed rapid growth in recent years. Unfortunately, this has also increased the number of startup failures at the same time. No doubt, a good idea is the starting point of any successful business, but it turned out that just having a million-dollar idea can’t guarantee you million-dollar returns.

The Indian startup scene is undoubtedly thriving, but due to lack of innovation, 90% of startups shut down within five years of their inception. Let’s take a look at some of the costliest and most significant startups that closed their operations recently.

Top Startup Failures In India in 2019

1. Buttercups

‘Buttercups’ was a well funded online lingerie startup. With cutthroat competition from some of the most prominent players in the lingerie industry, including companies like Clovis, Zivame and Pretty Secrets, etc., Buttercups had to close down its shop in 2019.

Buttercups had successfully raised $1 Million from investors like Rajan Amanda, Manoj Varghese, Anand Chandrasekaran, and Angie Mahtaney, among others.

Their website stopped working in July 2019. And soon after, in September, the founder Arpita Ganesh announced its closure on the social networking site ‘LinkedIn’. The company faced a net loss of Rs. 1.94 crores in the FY19 and its total liabilities are more than its current assets by over INR 28 Lakh. As of now, their products are available on Amazon India.

2. Wooplr

Despite raising a whopping $16 Mn from some of the leading investors like Sistema Asia, Helion Ventures, and Deep Kalra, Whooplr, a social commerce company, had to close down in 2019. The reason for their failure is believed to be the failed merger.

Whooplr is a social media-based platform where users can start selling within minutes. Using Whooplr’s platform, they can open their online store, choose products from the company’s catalog, and start making sales right away.

With more than 300 brands in their kitty and month-to-month growth of over 20%, Whooplr’s failure was shocking news in the Indian startup circles, mainly because similar companies like GlowRoad, Meesho, and Mall91 were witnessing remarkable growth in many cities across India. Maybe Whooplr was too ahead of its times.

3. Koinex

Koinex was a cryptocurrency startup and had to shut down in 2019. As a trading and multi-cryptocurrency exchange platform, Koinex allows users to trade in multiple cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash with a single easy to use interface.

With a trading volume of over $265 Mn, Koinex experienced some tremendous growth in a short period of 4 months. Unfortunately, the absence of any regulatory framework to govern cryptocurrencies in India proved to be the biggest hurdle for Koinex.

4. Cryptokart

Cryptokart was another cryptocurrency company that saw its demise in the year 2019. Co-founded by Gaurang Poddar, Cryptokart failed mostly because of the fading interest of the general public in cryptocurrencies in India. Besides, multiple delays by the government to bring regulations have further led to the failure of cryptocurrency companies like Cyprokart and Koinex in India.

5. Homigo

Based in Bangalore, Homigo was a co-living startup. It was shut down when multiple cases of frauds, committed by its founders, came to light in 2019. In May last year, it was reported that the founders- Jatin Mitruka, Aakash ran away with the tenant’s money. There are many cases registered against them at several police stations across Bengaluru.

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