SHUTDOWN

We shut down on a Tuesday. 400 people lost their jobs. I'd moved my family from Australia to San Francisco for this. It was the worst day of my life.

We raised $200 million total. The board found out the metrics were fake and shut the company down in a week. From unicorn to dead in seven days.

We shut down 16 months after launch. The machine cost $400. The juice packs cost $7 each. And you could get the same result by squeezing them with your hands. I understand why people laughed.

We shut down after six months and returned $350 million to investors. Most failed startups return nothing. We returned 20%. That's either responsible or the most depressing statistic I've ever shared.

We shut down in 2020. Laid off everyone. Returned what money we could. The lesson is simple: don't raise on the technology you plan to build. Raise on the technology you've actually built.