Real Stories From Failed Unicorns

Learning from success is important. Learning from failure even more so. Selling 2-3% of your future liquidity to Grove will ensure you’ll have more to show for your years of sweat & toil than the founders of these failed unicorns

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Even unicorns go bankrupt

Real stories to learn from

Convoy

Shipping

The end of the Convoy was the dustbin of history

Convoy was a freight brokerage that raised $800 million from investors, including $260 million in early 2022 at a $3.8 billion valuation. After failing to find a buyer, Convoy declared bankruptcy in October 2023.

Terraform Labs

DeFi

Formed its way into bankruptcy

Terraform Labs developed a blockchain protocol & payment platform used for algotithmic stablecoins that raised over $200 million from investors following its founding in 2018. The TerraUSD token collapse in May 2022 wiped out nearly $45 billion in market capitalization. The company filed for bankruptcy in January 2024.

Bird

Mobility

The Icarus of scooter startups

Bird was an urban scooter company that raised $776 million & whose valuation peaked at $2.5 billion in 2019. It was de-listed from the NYSE in September 2023, shortly before declaring bankruptcy.

Zume

Food & beverage

Turns out, the cheese should be delivered while on the pizza

Zume was a robot pizza delivery startup that raised $446 million & whose valuation peaked at $2.25 billion in 2018. The company shut down operations in 2023.

Olive AI

Healthcare

Unable to massage its way to success

Olive AI aimed to humanize AI for healthcare & automate repetitive tasks. The company raised $902 million between 2017 & 2021, reaching a valuation of $4 billion. Less than 18 months after raising $400 million, the company wound down all operations in 2022.

Plastiq

Fintech

This plastiq was not recyclable

Plastiq was a payments platform company that raised $158 million & whose valuation peaked at $940 million in January 2022. It declared bankruptcy in May 2023.

Hopin

SaaS

“Hopin’” wasn’t enough for Hopin

Hopin built a suite of audience engagement tools, and raised over $1.6 billion from investors. Once valued at $7.6 billion, Hopin sold its main business for $15 million in August 2023.

Veev

Real Estate

The heck does “Veev” mean, anyhow?

Veev was a homebuilder which aimed to solve the housing crisis through modular homes. The company raised $647 million & shut down in late 2023.

Beepi

Automotive

Investors should have heeded the horn signals: get out of the way!

Beepi was an online peer-to-peer marketplace for used cars that raised $149 million, & whose valuation peaked at $560 million. The company wound down operations in 2017.

Solyndra

Climate tech

Not such a sunny ending

Solyndra was a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic systems that raised over $1.6 billion in funding. Following competitors’ technological advances allowing for a 90% decrease in the price of polysilicon, a key component of competing products, Solyndra was unable to compete. The company declared bankruptcy in 2011.

The bottom line

Being a unicorn, or having raised hundred of millions of dollars, does not guarantee a good financial outcome for founders: the risk of failure remains high. The Grove Network lets founders sell some of their illiquid wealth, in exchange for exposure to other founders in the Grove Network. And thanks to Grove’s sieving mechanism, the network is guaranteed to generate returns unachievable by traditional cash venture capital funds, for those who qualify for the network.

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