// STARTUP COMPARISON
Loft (2022 crisis) vs Badi
Loft (2022 crisis) failed in 2022 due to Unit Economics. Badi failed in 2022 due to Bad Timing. Different causes, different sectors, different eras — but the same simulation outcome.
| METRIC | 🔥 Loft (2022 crisis) | 🔥 Badi |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Proptech | Proptech |
| Country | Brazil | Spain |
| Founded | 2018 | 2015 |
| Died | 2022 | 2022 |
| Raised | $788M | $30M |
| Peak | $2.9B valuation | $30M raised |
| Primary Cause | Unit Economics | Bad Timing |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 Loft (2022 crisis)
Unit Economics
Loft, a Brazilian technology-enabled real estate brokerage, raised $788M and reached a $2.9B valuation. In 2022 Brazil's mortgage rates rose sharply (SELIC rate exceeded 13%), dramatically reducing home buying demand. Loft lay off approximately 150 employees, reduced its balance sheet of owned homes, and retrenched to core brokerage from its iBuying activities. The company survived restructured.
// LESSON
iBuying requires a low-rate environment to function. When mortgage rates double, buyer demand halves and holding costs double. iBuying in a rising rate environment is a leveraged bet against the central bank. Model it accordingly.
iBuying requires a low-rate environment to function. When mortgage rates double, buyer demand halves and holding costs double. iBuying in a rising rate environment is a leveraged bet against the central bank. Model it accordingly.
🔥 Badi
Bad Timing
Badi built a Tinder-style matching app for room rentals in urban markets (Barcelona, Madrid, London, NYC). The model depended entirely on urban density — young professionals needing affordable shared housing near work. COVID emptied city centers as remote work spread. Demand for urban room rentals collapsed in 2020-2021. By the time urban density recovered, cheaper competitors (Idealista, Fotocasa, SpareRoom) had consolidated the market. Badi shut down its platform in 2022.
// LESSON
Marketplaces that depend on urban density have zero pandemic resilience. Badi needed people in cities and needed them to be price-constrained. Remote work broke both assumptions simultaneously.
Marketplaces that depend on urban density have zero pandemic resilience. Badi needed people in cities and needed them to be price-constrained. Remote work broke both assumptions simultaneously.
// EXPLORE FURTHER