// STARTUP COMPARISON
GetSwift vs Hopin
GetSwift failed in 2019 due to Fraud. Hopin failed in 2023 due to Bad Timing. Different causes, different sectors, different eras — but the same simulation outcome.
| METRIC | 🔥 GetSwift | 🔥 Hopin |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | SaaS | SaaS |
| Country | Australia | USA |
| Founded | 2015 | 2019 |
| Died | 2019 | 2023 |
| Raised | Public (ASX) | $1B |
| Peak | A$1.2B market cap | $7.75B valuation |
| Primary Cause | Fraud | Bad Timing |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 GetSwift
Fraud
GetSwift, a delivery management SaaS, listed on the ASX in 2016 and reached A$1.2B market cap. The company announced contracts with companies including Amazon, CommBank, and Yum! Brands that were either misrepresented or never finalized. ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) launched an investigation. Founders were charged with market manipulation and misleading disclosure. The company was delisted and shareholders lost hundreds of millions.
// LESSON
For ASX-listed companies, continuous disclosure obligations make premature contract announcements a criminal matter. "Partnership discussions" and "signed contracts" are legally distinct categories. Misrepresenting one as the other is market manipulation.
For ASX-listed companies, continuous disclosure obligations make premature contract announcements a criminal matter. "Partnership discussions" and "signed contracts" are legally distinct categories. Misrepresenting one as the other is market manipulation.
🔥 Hopin
Bad Timing
Hopin, a virtual events platform, raised $1B and reached $7.75B valuation during COVID when all events moved online. When in-person events returned in 2022, Hopin's core use case evaporated. The company sold its Events product to RingCentral in 2023 for approximately $15M — a 99.8% value destruction from its $7.75B peak. The founding CEO had already stepped down.
// LESSON
COVID-only use cases have COVID-only valuations. Hopin's $7.75B was pricing in a world where in-person events never returned. When building during a macro event, model the post-event scenario before setting valuation. A product that only works during a pandemic has a pandemic-length runway.
COVID-only use cases have COVID-only valuations. Hopin's $7.75B was pricing in a world where in-person events never returned. When building during a macro event, model the post-event scenario before setting valuation. A product that only works during a pandemic has a pandemic-length runway.
// EXPLORE FURTHER