SMRTR ProgrammingAug 30, 2026Hacker News

The Patterns of Startup Failure

SMRTR summary

Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann breaks down why startups fail using a research-backed framework covering six recurring failure patterns — from "False Starts" and "False Positives" to "Cascading Miracles" and "Speed Traps." Using real cases like Fab.com and Jibo, he shows how misaligned resources, premature scaling, and crossing the chasm from early adopters to mainstream customers destroy otherwise promising companies.

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