
In a recent article called “Mapping Failure,” Collaborative Consumption discovered the reason why 45 startups in the collaborative economy failed in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
The top 5 reasons for failure were:
- Scale
- Unclear Value Proposition
- Lack of Product Focus
- Insufficient Funding
- Regulation
Do I agree with this? Yes. Would I present the information this way? No!
Here’s why. At the end of the day, a business needs to make hay; it needs to SELL.
Thomas J. Watson Sr., IBM famously said, “Nothing happens until a sale is made.” It doesn’t matter whether you are B2C, B2B, or P2P, if you don’t sell, you won’t last.
The reason that Airbnb and Uber are scaling is not because of their delivery method (P2P), it is because they solve real problems, deliver a quality product/service, and most importantly sell.
It’s the Sales, Stupid!