4 Failed Australian Startups & the Reasons Behind

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Here’s a list of 4 failed Australian startups.

Some of them were big, with huge teams and funding rounds.

Others were smaller, ran by the co-founders and with no funding.

But all of them shut down.

And each for a specific cause of failure.

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4 Failed Australian Startups

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99dresses

99dresses was a fashion app that offered trades of second-hand designer dresses between users. It operated for a year but had to shut it down in 2014.

Details of the startup:

Founders:
Nikki Durkin
Country:
Australia
Industry:
e-Commerce
Started in:
2010
Closed in:
2014
Nº of employees:
1-10
Funding Amount:
< $1M
Specific cause of failure:
Multiple Reasons

You can read more about their failure here.

Onepagetrip

Onepagetrip was a travel itinerary sharing community. Not having a plan to make money from the beginning was a stupid rookie mistake.

Details of the startup:

Founder:
Ana Santos
Country:
Australia
Industry:
Travel
Started in:
2014
Closed in:
2015
Funding Amount:
$0
Specific cause of failure:
Bad Business Model

You can read more about their failure here.

The Nerd Cave

The Nerd Cave was a new kind of retail model, a truly safe space for gamers of all kinds to go and enjoy their passion and hobby. They were doing it great, earning $16,000 AUD/month. But when they moved to a new location, they saw a big loss of income, which provoked the closure of their doors.

Details of the startup:

Founder:
David Desi
Country:
Australia
Industry:
Entertainment
Started in:
2013
Closed in:
2017
Funding Amount:
< $100K
Specific cause of failure:
Lack of Funds

You can read more about their failure here.

Zor Technology

When he was 16 years old, Mat wanted to help his family improve the standards of living. So, he started a business which imported consumer electronics and re-sold them at almost x10 the original price. Through affiliates, he was able to put his business on the track to 6 figures in the first year. However, one day he received a call from a law firm which forced him to shut down the startup.

Details of the startup:

Founder:
Mathew Carpenter
Country:
Australia
Industry:
Software & Hardware
Started in:
2008
Closed in:
2009
Funding Amount:
$0
Specific cause of failure:
Legal Challenges

You can read more about their failure here.