Lead Product Manager | Skyrocketing user growth for companies with AI-driven innovations | IIT Kharagpur Alumnus
The Decision That Doomed a Dream 📽️ 🎬 What if your most hyped product idea became the reason your company collapsed? This is the untold story of a decision that sent a $2 billion startup spiraling. Priya: “Remember Quibi? The short-form streaming platform that raised $2 billion only to crash and burn in six months?” Amit: “How could I forget? But wasn’t their whole idea—quick bites of content on mobile—a good one? People are obsessed with short videos now.” Priya: “Exactly! The concept was solid, but the product decisions? Not so much. One of their biggest missteps was locking all their content behind a paywall with no free tier.” Amit: “Wait, they didn’t offer even a single free episode? Not even ads-supported content?” Priya: “Nope. They banked on the idea that people would pay $5–$8 a month upfront for content they’d never seen before from a brand they didn’t know. Add to that the fact they launched during the pandemic, when people were glued to their TVs—not mobile phones.” Amit: “Oof. That sounds like a classic case of not reading the room.” Priya: “It gets worse. Their product didn’t allow screenshots or sharing clips on social media. Imagine trying to launch a video platform in 2020 without virality built in.” Amit: “So, they made themselves invisible on the platforms where their audience hangs out. That’s a killer mistake. Did they try to fix it?” Priya: “Too little, too late. By the time they introduced features like TV support and extended free trials, their subscriber numbers had tanked. They shut down just six months after launch.” Amit: “Man, all that money and talent—and it was decisions, not the idea, that sank them. Makes you wonder how many product decisions are make-or-break moments in disguise.” Sometimes, the right product decisions aren’t about flashy features but about understanding your audience’s needs. #QuibiStory #ProductManagement #LessonsFromFailure #StartupJourney #InnovationGoneWrong #PMJourney Photo Credits: https://lnkd.in/gtg33zHu
Quibi proves you can have $2B and still miss the memo: Know your audience, always!