// STARTUP COMPARISON
Shippit (funding stagnation) vs Zenefits
Shippit (funding stagnation) failed in 2022 due to Competition. Zenefits failed in 2017 due to Founder Chaos. Different causes, different sectors, different eras — but the same simulation outcome.
| METRIC | 🔥 Shippit (funding stagnation) | 🔥 Zenefits |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | SaaS | SaaS |
| Country | Australia | USA |
| Founded | 2014 | 2012 |
| Died | 2022 | 2017 |
| Raised | A$30M | $584M |
| Peak | A$30M raised | $4.5B valuation |
| Primary Cause | Competition | Founder Chaos |
// WHY EACH FAILED
🔥 Shippit (funding stagnation)
Competition
Shippit built a multi-carrier shipping management SaaS for Australian e-commerce merchants. After raising A$30M, Shopify launched its native Shopify Shipping product with carrier integrations embedded directly into the Shopify checkout. For Shopify merchants — the majority of Shippit's customer base — the native Shopify solution eliminated the need for a third-party shipping tool. Shippit restructured in 2022, refocusing on enterprise customers.
// LESSON
SaaS tools that solve problems for a dominant platform's customers are building on borrowed time. When Shopify, Salesforce, or HubSpot ships the feature natively, your SMB customer base disappears. Build platform-agnostic features or enterprise-depth that the platform won't replicate.
SaaS tools that solve problems for a dominant platform's customers are building on borrowed time. When Shopify, Salesforce, or HubSpot ships the feature natively, your SMB customer base disappears. Build platform-agnostic features or enterprise-depth that the platform won't replicate.
🔥 Zenefits
Founder Chaos
Zenefits, an HR and benefits SaaS, raised $584M and reached $4.5B valuation. Regulatory investigations revealed Zenefits had been selling insurance through unlicensed brokers — a serious regulatory violation. Founder and CEO Parker Conrad resigned in February 2016. The company was fined $7M by California regulators. A later investigation found Conrad had also created software to help brokers fake insurance licensing course completion.
// LESSON
Move fast and break things does not apply to insurance licensing. Selling insurance through unlicensed brokers is illegal in every US state. The compliance cost of proper licensing is the cost of being in the business — not a bureaucratic obstacle to move around.
Move fast and break things does not apply to insurance licensing. Selling insurance through unlicensed brokers is illegal in every US state. The compliance cost of proper licensing is the cost of being in the business — not a bureaucratic obstacle to move around.
// EXPLORE FURTHER