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color: #767676 !important; }\n .u a { text-decoration: none; display: block !important; color: #767676 !important; margin: 0px !important; }\n .u span, .u img { color: #767676 !important;margin:0px !important; max-height:32px !important;background-color:#ffffff !important; }\n<\/style>\n<p><\/p>\n<style><\/style>\n<p><\/head><body class=\"a\" style=\"margin:0px auto;padding:0px;word-wrap:normal;word-spacing:normal;background-color:#FFFFFF;\"><\/p>\n<div role=\"article\" aria-roledescription=\"email\" aria-label=\"email_name\" lang=\"en\" style=\"font-size:1rem\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" class=\"gg\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"670\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" class=\"aa\" style=\"width:670px;table-layout:fixed;\">\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bodyWrapper\" align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding:10px 5px 10px 5px;\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"border-width:0px 0px 0px 0px;border-style: solid; border-color: #FFFFFF;border-radius:10px 10px 0px 0px;background-color:#FFFFFF;\" class=\"c\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr id=\"header\">\n<td style=\"padding:15px 15px 0px 15px;\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:0px;\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td class=\"f\" align=\"right\" valign=\"top\">\n<p> January 13, 2026 | <a data-read-online-tooltip=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/buildmode.xyz\/p\/the-185-million-lesson-when-moving?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\">Read online<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding:15px 0;\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\">\n<h1 style=\"text-align:left;font-family:'Trebuchet MS','Lucida Grande',Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight:Bold;font-size:32px;color:#2A2A2A;padding:2px 0;line-height:38px;\"> The $185 Million Lesson: When Moving Fast Means Breaking Everything <\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;font-family:'Helvetica',Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;font-size:20px;color:#3E3E3E;padding:5px 0;line-height:24px;\"> Quirky was supposed to democratize invention. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\" class=\"mob-stack\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"right\" class=\"social-mobile\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"left\" style=\"width:100%\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbuildmode.xyz%2Fp%2Fthe-185-million-lesson-when-moving&utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" style=\"text-decoration:none; display:block;\"><\/p>\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\" style=\"border: 1px solid #E5E7EB; border-radius: 100%; width: 18px; height: 18px; padding: 8px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display:block; width:100%; height:100%; max-width:18px; max-height:18px; object-fit: contain;\" alt=\"share on facebook\" width=\"18\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/static_assets\/header\/facebook.png\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/a><\/td>\n<td width=\"8\" style=\"width:8px;\"> <\/td>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Quirky+was+supposed+to+democratize+invention.&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbuildmode.xyz%2Fp%2Fthe-185-million-lesson-when-moving&via=tomasmarsal&utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" style=\"text-decoration:none; display:block;\"><\/p>\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\" style=\"border: 1px solid #E5E7EB; border-radius: 100%; width: 18px; height: 18px; padding: 8px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display:block; width:100%; height:100%; max-width:18px; max-height:18px; object-fit: contain;\" alt=\"share on twitter\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/static_assets\/header\/x.png\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/a><\/td>\n<td width=\"8\" style=\"width:8px;\"> <\/td>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/intent\/post?text=Quirky+was+supposed+to+democratize+invention.+https%3A%2F%2Fbuildmode.xyz%2Fp%2Fthe-185-million-lesson-when-moving&utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" style=\"text-decoration:none; display:block;\"><\/p>\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\" style=\"border: 1px solid #E5E7EB; border-radius: 100%; width: 18px; height: 18px; padding: 8px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display:block; width:100%; height:100%; max-width:18px; max-height:18px; object-fit: contain;\" alt=\"share on threads\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/static_assets\/header\/threads.png\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/a><\/td>\n<td width=\"8\" style=\"width:8px;\"> <\/td>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/sharing\/share-offsite?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbuildmode.xyz%2Fp%2Fthe-185-million-lesson-when-moving&utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" style=\"text-decoration:none; display:block;\"><\/p>\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\" style=\"border: 1px solid #E5E7EB; border-radius: 100%; width: 18px; height: 18px; padding: 8px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display:block; width:100%; height:100%; max-width:18px; max-height:18px; object-fit: contain;\" alt=\"share on linkedin\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/static_assets\/header\/linkedin.png\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"line-height:0;\">\n<div data-open-tracking=\"true\"> {{OPEN_TRACKING_PIXEL}} <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr id=\"content-blocks\">\n<td class=\"email-card-body\" align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:15px;\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:630px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/fb6a742e-eb88-423e-a865-bcdc6fa7fbdd\/6831fd94-900d-4fc5-b7e5-16abd5077a4a_1200x800.jpg?t=1771948362\" alt=\"Quirky's Aros\" height=\"auto\" width=\"630\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky was supposed to democratize invention. Anyone could submit an idea, the community would vote, and Quirky would handle everything else – design, manufacturing, marketing, distribution. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> It sounded perfect. Felt revolutionary. Raised $185 million. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> And it completely fell apart. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">The Dream (That Actually Worked… For A Minute)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quirky_(company)?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Ben Kaufman<\/span><\/a> founded Quirky in 2009 when he was just 22 years old. The pitch was simple: crowdsourced invention platform where everyday people could become product designers. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>Submit your idea \u2192 Community votes \u2192 Quirky builds it \u2192 Product hits shelves \u2192 You get royalties<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> In April 2010, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quirky_(company)?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Quirky raised $6.5 million in Series A<\/span><\/a> funding led by RRE Ventures. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The first hit came fast. Pivot Power, a bendable power strip idea submitted by college student Jake Zien in 2010, became a massive success – by 2015 it had generated over <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/quirky-invention-startup-burned-200-145321441.html?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>$2 million<\/span><\/a> for Zien and other community members. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:497px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/622360e0-e888-4b9e-9871-cf792af7900e\/ee7591be-7989-4f80-b5da-769760136398_575x390.jpg?t=1771948362\" alt=\"Pivot Power | Flexible Power Strip\" height=\"auto\" width=\"497\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> This was validation. Proof the model worked. Investors piled in. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> August 2011: $16 million Series B from Norwest Venture Partners. September 2012: <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quirky_(company)?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>$68 million Series C<\/span><\/a> led by Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins. November 2013: $79 million Series D from GE and existing investors. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Total raised: $185 million (some sources say up to $200M when accounting for later bridge funding). <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> By 2013, Quirky had partnerships with GE, Bed Bath & Beyond, Amazon, Target. Over 500,000 community members. Thousands of weekly submissions. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> They were launching products. Lots of products. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Too many products. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">The Math That Didn\u2019t Work<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Here\u2019s where the wheels came off. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky\u2019s stated goal: <b>launch 50+ products per year<\/b>. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Let that number sit for a second. Fifty. Every single year. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> For context, most hardware companies consider 3-5 major product launches annually to be aggressive. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky wasn\u2019t just accelerating the innovation cycle. They were trying to run a full sprint on a treadmill set to maximum speed. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:630px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/aa690c9b-7c63-4883-b2d7-722c67a35703\/ebf487e7-572d-4836-b3fd-5dcffae9dd8f_730x300.jpg?t=1771948363\" alt=\"The Nov\u2019In process (left) and the Quirky\u2019s process (right). Looks very similar, doesn\u2019t it?\" height=\"auto\" width=\"630\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Until its shutdown, Quirky produced around 400 different products total. Four hundred. In six years. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The operational overhead was insane. Because unlike Kickstarter, which shifts all risk to creators, Quirky owned the entire process: <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-bottom:12px;padding-left:37px;padding-right:27px;padding-top:12px;\" class=\"ee\">\n<div style=\"margin-left:0px;\" class=\"edm_outlooklist\">\n<ul style=\"font-weight:normal;list-style-type:disc;margin-bottom:12px !important;margin-top:12px !important;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\">\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Product design <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Prototyping <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Manufacturing <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Quality control <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Inventory management <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Marketing <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Distribution <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Customer service <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> For. Every. Single. Product. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The company burned $150 million with net losses of <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/quirky-invention-startup-burned-200-145321441.html?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>$120 million<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">When Community Votes Don\u2019t Equal Market Demand<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The community voting system had a fatal flaw: <b>what people vote for and what people actually buy are very different things<\/b>. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> In July 2015, CEO Ben Kaufman admitted at <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2015\/07\/15\/kaufman-quirky-wink\/?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Fortune\u2019s Brainstorm Tech<\/span><\/a> conference that Quirky \u201cran out of money weeks ago\u201d. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The Egg Minder became the poster child for everything wrong with the model. A smart egg tray that tracked which eggs were fresh. The community loved it. Almost nobody bought it. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:630px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/8c96cd7c-ffd9-4c22-af0a-4e2e47bb3b23\/56c59439-6d98-4181-ae27-fa54a174e18d_1200x923.jpg?t=1771948363\" alt=\"Quirky Egg Minder review: This egg tracker is underdone - CNET\" height=\"auto\" width=\"630\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Most of Quirky\u2019s 400 products followed the same pattern. Innovative? Sure. Solving real problems people would pay to solve? Not really. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Pivot Power, their biggest hit, generated $2 million total <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/quirky-invention-startup-burned-200-145321441.html?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Yahoo Sports<\/span><\/a>. Across all the contributors. Over 5 years. One of their most successful products ever. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Now do that math across 400 products where 95% sold almost nothing. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">The Pivot That Changed Nothing<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> By 2014, reality was setting in. The model wasn\u2019t working at scale. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Kaufman tried pivoting. New strategy: become an innovation partner for big brands like Mattel, Amazon, and GE. Let them handle inventory and distribution risk while Quirky provided the crowdsourced ideas. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The logic seemed sound. Big companies have innovation problems. Quirky has an innovation platform. Match made in heaven. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:630px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/d07894d9-fc36-4c67-84a6-15028ce71a0c\/b82327a5-0db3-486c-9474-f79712b89ef8_2116x1142.jpg?t=1771948363\" alt=\"How a 30-Year-Old Chart Explains Intel's Fall, Nvidia's Rise, and DeepSeek's Disruption\" height=\"auto\" width=\"630\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Except… these companies already had innovation pipelines. They didn\u2019t need a 22-year-old\u2019s crowdsourcing platform to tell them what products to make. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The pivot flopped. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> On July 31, 2015, Ben Kaufman stepped down as CEO following a <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quirky_(company)?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>layoff of 111<\/span><\/a> employees. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> On September 22, 2015, Quirky filed for <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quirky_(company)?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Chapter 11 bankruptcy<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">The Fire Sale<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky\u2019s smart home division, Wink, sold to <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/quirky-invention-startup-burned-200-145321441.html?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Flextronics for $15 million<\/span><\/a>. The remaining assets went to Q Holdings for about $5 million. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> From $185M+ in funding to $20M in asset sales. That\u2019s a 90% value destruction. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The math is brutal: <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-bottom:12px;padding-left:37px;padding-right:27px;padding-top:12px;\" class=\"ee\">\n<div style=\"margin-left:0px;\" class=\"edm_outlooklist\">\n<ul style=\"font-weight:normal;list-style-type:disc;margin-bottom:12px !important;margin-top:12px !important;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\">\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> $185M invested <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> ~$20M recovered <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> $165M evaporated <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Despite the shutdown, the platform continued adding inventors at more than 100 per day, with over <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/quirky-invention-startup-burned-200-145321441.html?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>25,000 submissions<\/span><\/a> since 2015. People still believed in the dream. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> In 2017, Quirky relaunched under new leadership with a licensing model – partnering with HSN, Shopify, and others. No more manufacturing. Just idea licensing. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> It never regained momentum. The brand quietly faded. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">What Actually Went Wrong<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>1. The speed trap<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Fifty products a year sounds impressive in a pitch deck. In reality, it\u2019s organizational suicide for a hardware company. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Every product needs: <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-bottom:12px;padding-left:37px;padding-right:27px;padding-top:12px;\" class=\"ee\">\n<div style=\"margin-left:0px;\" class=\"edm_outlooklist\">\n<ul style=\"font-weight:normal;list-style-type:disc;margin-bottom:12px !important;margin-top:12px !important;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\">\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Market research <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Design iteration <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Manufacturing setup <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Quality testing <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Marketing strategy <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Distribution channels <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> You can\u2019t do that well 50 times a year with 300 employees. You end up doing it poorly 50 times a year. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>2. Democracy doesn\u2019t equal demand<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Community voting is great for engagement. Terrible for product-market fit. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The Egg Minder got voted through because it was clever and quirky (pun intended). But \u201cclever\u201d doesn\u2019t drive purchase decisions. \u201cI need this to solve a real problem\u201d does. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Kickstarter figured this out: let creators pitch, let backers fund with real money. Money is the ultimate vote. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky\u2019s votes were free. Free votes don\u2019t predict buyer behavior. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>3. Owning too much of the value chain<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Kickstarter: 5% fee, zero inventory risk Quirky: 100% of manufacturing, inventory, marketing, distribution costs <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> One model scales. The other burns $150 million. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:630px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/55cb86a3-ccd8-4eee-bcb2-0263f2fccb0c\/ef461df9-3ec1-4bbe-8979-86f2cb036b6f_2500x1406.jpg?t=1771948364\" alt=\"Kickstarter Business Model - How Kickstarter Makes Money?\" height=\"auto\" width=\"630\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">The Real Lessons<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>Validate with money, not votes<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Ideas are cheap. Manufacturing is expensive. If you\u2019re going to invest millions in production, make sure people will actually pay for it first. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>Focus beats variety<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky tried to be everything: kitchen gadgets, smart home devices, office accessories, pet products. They had no brand identity because they stood for nothing specific. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Apple launched the iPod and didn\u2019t diversify for years. Then the iPhone. Then the iPad. One category at a time, done excellently. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky launched 50 products per year across every category. None done excellently. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>Speed without quality is just expensive failure<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> \u201cMove fast and break things\u201d works for software. You can ship bugs and patch them. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Hardware is different. A broken egg tracker doesn\u2019t get a software update. It gets returned, creates customer support costs, damages brand reputation, and sits in inventory. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Despite this foundation, Quirky didn\u2019t sell enough products and burned through $185 million in venture capital before filing for bankruptcy 6 years after opening. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Six years. $185 million. 400 products. 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{"id":158,"date":"2026-02-24T15:52:42","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:52:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildmode.xyz\/?p=158"},"modified":"2026-02-24T15:52:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T15:52:42","slug":"the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildmode.xyz\/uncategorized\/the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"The $185 Million Lesson: When Moving Fast Means Breaking Everything"},"content":{"rendered":"

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}\n ol > li { font-family:'Helvetica',Arial,sans-serif;margin:10px 0px 0px 0px !important;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px !important; color: #2D2D2D; }\n .e h3,\n .e p,\n .e span { padding-bottom:0px;padding-top:0px;mso-margin-top-alt:0px;mso-margin-bottom-alt:0px; }\n .e span,\n .e li { font-family:'Helvetica',Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;color:#2D2D2D;line-height:24px; }\n .rec { font-family: ui-sans-serif, system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, \"Segoe UI\", Roboto, \"Helvetica Neue\", Arial, \"Noto Sans\", sans-serif, \"Apple Color Emoji\", \"Segoe UI Emoji\", \"Segoe UI Symbol\", \"Noto Color Emoji\" !important; }\n .rec__button:hover { background-color: #f9fafb !important; }\n .copyright a {color: inherit !important; text-decoration: none !important; font-size: inherit !important; font-family: inherit !important; font-weight: inherit !important; line-height: inherit !important;}\n .txt_social p { padding: 0; word-break: break-all; }\n .table, .table-c, .table-h { border: 1px solid #C0C0C0; }\n .table-c { padding:5px; background-color:#FFFFFF; }\n .table-c p { color: #2D2D2D; font-family:'Helvetica',Arial,sans-serif !important;overflow-wrap: break-word; }\n .table-h { padding:5px; background-color:#F1F1F1; }\n .table-h p { color: #2A2A2A; font-family:'Trebuchet MS','Lucida Grande',Tahoma,sans-serif !important;overflow-wrap: break-word; }\n @media only screen and (max-width:667px) {\n .aa, .w100pc { width: 100% !important; }\n .bb img { width: 100% !important; height: auto !important; max-width: none !important; }\n .cc { padding: 0px 8px !important; }\n .ee { padding-top:10px !important;padding-bottom:10px !important; }\n .ff ul, .ff ol { margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px !important;padding: 0px !important; }\n .ff li { margin:10px 0px 0px 10px !important; }\n .r {height:140px !important;}\n .s p { font-size:13px !important;line-height:15px !important; }\n .mob-hide {display:none !important;}\n .mob-show {display: block !important; width: auto !important; overflow: visible !important; float: none !important; max-height: inherit !important; line-height: inherit !important;}\n .mob-stack {width:100% !important;display:block !important;}\n .mob-w-full {width:100% !important;}\n .mob-block {display:block !important;}\n .embed-img {padding:0px 0px 12px 0px !important;}\n .socialShare {padding-top:15px !important;}\n .rec { padding-left:15px!important;padding-right:15px!important; }\n .bodyWrapper { padding:10px 4px 10px 4px !important; }\n .social-mobile {float:left !important;margin-top:10px !important;}\n }\n @media screen and (max-width: 480px) {\n u + .a .gg { width: 100% !important; width: 100vw !important; }\n .tok-heart { padding-top:75% !important; }\n .tok-play { padding-top: 250px !important; }\n }\n @media screen and (max-width: 320px) {\n .tok-heart { padding-top:65% !important; }\n }\n .u { border: 1px solid #CACACA !important; border-radius: 2px !important; background-color: #ffffff !important; padding: 0px 13px 0px 13px !important; font-family:ui-sans-serif,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,\"Segoe UI\",Roboto,\"Helvetica Neue\",Arial,\"Noto Sans\",sans-serif !important;font-size: 12px !important; color: #767676 !important; }\n .u a { text-decoration: none; display: block !important; color: #767676 !important; margin: 0px !important; }\n .u span, .u img { color: #767676 !important;margin:0px !important; max-height:32px !important;background-color:#ffffff !important; }\n<\/style>\n<p><\/p>\n<style><\/style>\n<p><\/head><body class=\"a\" style=\"margin:0px auto;padding:0px;word-wrap:normal;word-spacing:normal;background-color:#FFFFFF;\"><\/p>\n<div role=\"article\" aria-roledescription=\"email\" aria-label=\"email_name\" lang=\"en\" style=\"font-size:1rem\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" class=\"gg\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"670\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" class=\"aa\" style=\"width:670px;table-layout:fixed;\">\n<tr>\n<td class=\"bodyWrapper\" align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding:10px 5px 10px 5px;\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"border-width:0px 0px 0px 0px;border-style: solid; border-color: #FFFFFF;border-radius:10px 10px 0px 0px;background-color:#FFFFFF;\" class=\"c\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr id=\"header\">\n<td style=\"padding:15px 15px 0px 15px;\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:0px;\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td class=\"f\" align=\"right\" valign=\"top\">\n<p> January 13, 2026 | <a data-read-online-tooltip=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/buildmode.xyz\/p\/the-185-million-lesson-when-moving?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\">Read online<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding:15px 0;\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\">\n<h1 style=\"text-align:left;font-family:'Trebuchet MS','Lucida Grande',Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight:Bold;font-size:32px;color:#2A2A2A;padding:2px 0;line-height:38px;\"> The $185 Million Lesson: When Moving Fast Means Breaking Everything <\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align:left;font-family:'Helvetica',Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;font-size:20px;color:#3E3E3E;padding:5px 0;line-height:24px;\"> Quirky was supposed to democratize invention. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\" class=\"mob-stack\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"right\" class=\"social-mobile\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" valign=\"middle\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"left\" style=\"width:100%\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbuildmode.xyz%2Fp%2Fthe-185-million-lesson-when-moving&utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" style=\"text-decoration:none; display:block;\"><\/p>\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\" style=\"border: 1px solid #E5E7EB; border-radius: 100%; width: 18px; height: 18px; padding: 8px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display:block; width:100%; height:100%; max-width:18px; max-height:18px; object-fit: contain;\" alt=\"share on facebook\" width=\"18\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/static_assets\/header\/facebook.png\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/a><\/td>\n<td width=\"8\" style=\"width:8px;\"> <\/td>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Quirky+was+supposed+to+democratize+invention.&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbuildmode.xyz%2Fp%2Fthe-185-million-lesson-when-moving&via=tomasmarsal&utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" style=\"text-decoration:none; display:block;\"><\/p>\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\" style=\"border: 1px solid #E5E7EB; border-radius: 100%; width: 18px; height: 18px; padding: 8px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display:block; width:100%; height:100%; max-width:18px; max-height:18px; object-fit: contain;\" alt=\"share on twitter\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/static_assets\/header\/x.png\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/a><\/td>\n<td width=\"8\" style=\"width:8px;\"> <\/td>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/intent\/post?text=Quirky+was+supposed+to+democratize+invention.+https%3A%2F%2Fbuildmode.xyz%2Fp%2Fthe-185-million-lesson-when-moving&utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" style=\"text-decoration:none; display:block;\"><\/p>\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\" style=\"border: 1px solid #E5E7EB; border-radius: 100%; width: 18px; height: 18px; padding: 8px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display:block; width:100%; height:100%; max-width:18px; max-height:18px; object-fit: contain;\" alt=\"share on threads\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/static_assets\/header\/threads.png\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/a><\/td>\n<td width=\"8\" style=\"width:8px;\"> <\/td>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/sharing\/share-offsite?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbuildmode.xyz%2Fp%2Fthe-185-million-lesson-when-moving&utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" style=\"text-decoration:none; display:block;\"><\/p>\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"middle\" style=\"border: 1px solid #E5E7EB; border-radius: 100%; width: 18px; height: 18px; padding: 8px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display:block; width:100%; height:100%; max-width:18px; max-height:18px; object-fit: contain;\" alt=\"share on linkedin\" width=\"18\" height=\"18\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/static_assets\/header\/linkedin.png\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"line-height:0;\">\n<div data-open-tracking=\"true\"> {{OPEN_TRACKING_PIXEL}} <\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr id=\"content-blocks\">\n<td class=\"email-card-body\" align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:15px;\">\n<table role=\"none\" width=\"100%\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" align=\"center\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:630px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/fb6a742e-eb88-423e-a865-bcdc6fa7fbdd\/6831fd94-900d-4fc5-b7e5-16abd5077a4a_1200x800.jpg?t=1771948362\" alt=\"Quirky's Aros\" height=\"auto\" width=\"630\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky was supposed to democratize invention. Anyone could submit an idea, the community would vote, and Quirky would handle everything else – design, manufacturing, marketing, distribution. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> It sounded perfect. Felt revolutionary. Raised $185 million. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> And it completely fell apart. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">The Dream (That Actually Worked… For A Minute)<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quirky_(company)?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Ben Kaufman<\/span><\/a> founded Quirky in 2009 when he was just 22 years old. The pitch was simple: crowdsourced invention platform where everyday people could become product designers. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>Submit your idea \u2192 Community votes \u2192 Quirky builds it \u2192 Product hits shelves \u2192 You get royalties<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> In April 2010, <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quirky_(company)?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Quirky raised $6.5 million in Series A<\/span><\/a> funding led by RRE Ventures. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The first hit came fast. Pivot Power, a bendable power strip idea submitted by college student Jake Zien in 2010, became a massive success – by 2015 it had generated over <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/quirky-invention-startup-burned-200-145321441.html?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>$2 million<\/span><\/a> for Zien and other community members. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:497px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/622360e0-e888-4b9e-9871-cf792af7900e\/ee7591be-7989-4f80-b5da-769760136398_575x390.jpg?t=1771948362\" alt=\"Pivot Power | Flexible Power Strip\" height=\"auto\" width=\"497\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> This was validation. Proof the model worked. Investors piled in. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> August 2011: $16 million Series B from Norwest Venture Partners. September 2012: <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quirky_(company)?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>$68 million Series C<\/span><\/a> led by Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins. November 2013: $79 million Series D from GE and existing investors. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Total raised: $185 million (some sources say up to $200M when accounting for later bridge funding). <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> By 2013, Quirky had partnerships with GE, Bed Bath & Beyond, Amazon, Target. Over 500,000 community members. Thousands of weekly submissions. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> They were launching products. Lots of products. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Too many products. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">The Math That Didn\u2019t Work<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Here\u2019s where the wheels came off. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky\u2019s stated goal: <b>launch 50+ products per year<\/b>. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Let that number sit for a second. Fifty. Every single year. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> For context, most hardware companies consider 3-5 major product launches annually to be aggressive. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky wasn\u2019t just accelerating the innovation cycle. They were trying to run a full sprint on a treadmill set to maximum speed. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:630px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/aa690c9b-7c63-4883-b2d7-722c67a35703\/ebf487e7-572d-4836-b3fd-5dcffae9dd8f_730x300.jpg?t=1771948363\" alt=\"The Nov\u2019In process (left) and the Quirky\u2019s process (right). Looks very similar, doesn\u2019t it?\" height=\"auto\" width=\"630\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Until its shutdown, Quirky produced around 400 different products total. Four hundred. In six years. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The operational overhead was insane. Because unlike Kickstarter, which shifts all risk to creators, Quirky owned the entire process: <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-bottom:12px;padding-left:37px;padding-right:27px;padding-top:12px;\" class=\"ee\">\n<div style=\"margin-left:0px;\" class=\"edm_outlooklist\">\n<ul style=\"font-weight:normal;list-style-type:disc;margin-bottom:12px !important;margin-top:12px !important;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\">\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Product design <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Prototyping <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Manufacturing <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Quality control <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Inventory management <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Marketing <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Distribution <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Customer service <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> For. Every. Single. Product. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The company burned $150 million with net losses of <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/quirky-invention-startup-burned-200-145321441.html?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>$120 million<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">When Community Votes Don\u2019t Equal Market Demand<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The community voting system had a fatal flaw: <b>what people vote for and what people actually buy are very different things<\/b>. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> In July 2015, CEO Ben Kaufman admitted at <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2015\/07\/15\/kaufman-quirky-wink\/?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Fortune\u2019s Brainstorm Tech<\/span><\/a> conference that Quirky \u201cran out of money weeks ago\u201d. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The Egg Minder became the poster child for everything wrong with the model. A smart egg tray that tracked which eggs were fresh. The community loved it. Almost nobody bought it. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:630px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/8c96cd7c-ffd9-4c22-af0a-4e2e47bb3b23\/56c59439-6d98-4181-ae27-fa54a174e18d_1200x923.jpg?t=1771948363\" alt=\"Quirky Egg Minder review: This egg tracker is underdone - CNET\" height=\"auto\" width=\"630\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Most of Quirky\u2019s 400 products followed the same pattern. Innovative? Sure. Solving real problems people would pay to solve? Not really. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Pivot Power, their biggest hit, generated $2 million total <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/quirky-invention-startup-burned-200-145321441.html?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Yahoo Sports<\/span><\/a>. Across all the contributors. Over 5 years. One of their most successful products ever. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Now do that math across 400 products where 95% sold almost nothing. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">The Pivot That Changed Nothing<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> By 2014, reality was setting in. The model wasn\u2019t working at scale. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Kaufman tried pivoting. New strategy: become an innovation partner for big brands like Mattel, Amazon, and GE. Let them handle inventory and distribution risk while Quirky provided the crowdsourced ideas. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The logic seemed sound. Big companies have innovation problems. Quirky has an innovation platform. Match made in heaven. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:630px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/d07894d9-fc36-4c67-84a6-15028ce71a0c\/b82327a5-0db3-486c-9474-f79712b89ef8_2116x1142.jpg?t=1771948363\" alt=\"How a 30-Year-Old Chart Explains Intel's Fall, Nvidia's Rise, and DeepSeek's Disruption\" height=\"auto\" width=\"630\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Except… these companies already had innovation pipelines. They didn\u2019t need a 22-year-old\u2019s crowdsourcing platform to tell them what products to make. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The pivot flopped. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> On July 31, 2015, Ben Kaufman stepped down as CEO following a <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quirky_(company)?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>layoff of 111<\/span><\/a> employees. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> On September 22, 2015, Quirky filed for <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Quirky_(company)?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Chapter 11 bankruptcy<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">The Fire Sale<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky\u2019s smart home division, Wink, sold to <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/quirky-invention-startup-burned-200-145321441.html?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>Flextronics for $15 million<\/span><\/a>. The remaining assets went to Q Holdings for about $5 million. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> From $185M+ in funding to $20M in asset sales. That\u2019s a 90% value destruction. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The math is brutal: <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-bottom:12px;padding-left:37px;padding-right:27px;padding-top:12px;\" class=\"ee\">\n<div style=\"margin-left:0px;\" class=\"edm_outlooklist\">\n<ul style=\"font-weight:normal;list-style-type:disc;margin-bottom:12px !important;margin-top:12px !important;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\">\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> $185M invested <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> ~$20M recovered <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> $165M evaporated <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Despite the shutdown, the platform continued adding inventors at more than 100 per day, with over <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/quirky-invention-startup-burned-200-145321441.html?utm_source=buildmode.xyz&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-185-million-lesson-when-moving-fast-means-breaking-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><span>25,000 submissions<\/span><\/a> since 2015. People still believed in the dream. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> In 2017, Quirky relaunched under new leadership with a licensing model – partnering with HSN, Shopify, and others. No more manufacturing. Just idea licensing. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> It never regained momentum. The brand quietly faded. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">What Actually Went Wrong<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>1. The speed trap<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Fifty products a year sounds impressive in a pitch deck. In reality, it\u2019s organizational suicide for a hardware company. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Every product needs: <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"padding-bottom:12px;padding-left:37px;padding-right:27px;padding-top:12px;\" class=\"ee\">\n<div style=\"margin-left:0px;\" class=\"edm_outlooklist\">\n<ul style=\"font-weight:normal;list-style-type:disc;margin-bottom:12px !important;margin-top:12px !important;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\">\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Market research <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Design iteration <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Manufacturing setup <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Quality testing <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Marketing strategy <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"listItem ultext\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;padding:0px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\"> Distribution channels <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> You can\u2019t do that well 50 times a year with 300 employees. You end up doing it poorly 50 times a year. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>2. Democracy doesn\u2019t equal demand<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Community voting is great for engagement. Terrible for product-market fit. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> The Egg Minder got voted through because it was clever and quirky (pun intended). But \u201cclever\u201d doesn\u2019t drive purchase decisions. \u201cI need this to solve a real problem\u201d does. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Kickstarter figured this out: let creators pitch, let backers fund with real money. Money is the ultimate vote. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky\u2019s votes were free. Free votes don\u2019t predict buyer behavior. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>3. Owning too much of the value chain<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Kickstarter: 5% fee, zero inventory risk Quirky: 100% of manufacturing, inventory, marketing, distribution costs <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> One model scales. The other burns $150 million. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:20px;padding-left:15px;padding-right:15px;padding-top:20px; \" class=\"dd\">\n<table role=\"none\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" style=\"margin:0 auto 0 auto;\">\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width:630px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.beehiiv.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80\/uploads\/asset\/file\/55cb86a3-ccd8-4eee-bcb2-0263f2fccb0c\/ef461df9-3ec1-4bbe-8979-86f2cb036b6f_2500x1406.jpg?t=1771948364\" alt=\"Kickstarter Business Model - How Kickstarter Makes Money?\" height=\"auto\" width=\"630\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;\" border=\"0\"\/><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;\">\n<h4 style=\"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;mso-line-height-alt:112.5%;\">The Real Lessons<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>Validate with money, not votes<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Ideas are cheap. Manufacturing is expensive. If you\u2019re going to invest millions in production, make sure people will actually pay for it first. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>Focus beats variety<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky tried to be everything: kitchen gadgets, smart home devices, office accessories, pet products. They had no brand identity because they stood for nothing specific. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Apple launched the iPod and didn\u2019t diversify for years. Then the iPhone. Then the iPad. One category at a time, done excellently. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Quirky launched 50 products per year across every category. None done excellently. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"><b>Speed without quality is just expensive failure<\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> \u201cMove fast and break things\u201d works for software. You can ship bugs and patch them. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Hardware is different. A broken egg tracker doesn\u2019t get a software update. It gets returned, creates customer support costs, damages brand reputation, and sits in inventory. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Despite this foundation, Quirky didn\u2019t sell enough products and burned through $185 million in venture capital before filing for bankruptcy 6 years after opening. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"dd\" align=\"left\" style=\"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;word-break:break-word;\">\n<p style=\"mso-line-height-alt:150.0%;\"> Six years. $185 million. 400 products. 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