Get ready to cringe. These aren’t just business blunders – they’re catastrophic, money-burning, brand-destroying disasters. From tone-deaf decisions to billion-dollar black holes, here are the top 10 business failures that prove even giants can fall.
10.
Theranos – The $9 Billion Lie That Fooled the World
Failure Type: Fraud, Fake Tech
Year Imploded: 2018
What Happened:
Theranos, led by the now-notorious Elizabeth Holmes, promised a healthcare revolution: a machine that could run hundreds of blood tests from just a drop of blood. With her Steve Jobs-style black turtleneck and billion-dollar backing from media moguls, former U.S. Secretaries, and Walgreens, Holmes quickly rose to fame as the youngest self-made female billionaire. The only problem? The tech never worked. Behind the scenes, Theranos machines were wildly inaccurate, and most tests were secretly being run on traditional lab equipment.
Fallout:
When whistleblowers came forward and a Wall Street Journal exposé blew the lid off the fraud, everything came crashing down. The company was dissolved, Holmes and COO Sunny Balwani were hit with multiple counts of wire fraud, and investors like Rupert Murdoch lost hundreds of millions. Patients were misdiagnosed. Confidence in biotech investing took a hit. Elizabeth Holmes went from tech messiah to convicted criminal.
9.
MoviePass – The Startup That Burned Millions to Give Away Free Movies
Failure Type: Unsustainable Business Model
Year Imploded: 2019
What Happened:
MoviePass thought it could be the “Netflix for movie theaters” by charging just $9.95/month for unlimited movies. The catch? They still had to pay full price to theaters for each ticket. They hoped user data would somehow make them profitable in the future. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. When users realized they could game the system, they started watching multiple movies per week — bleeding the company dry.
Fallout:
MoviePass lost over $100 million in just three months. Their desperate attempts to stop the bleeding — including randomly locking users out of their accounts and changing passwords — led to FTC investigations. The app crashed, the company crashed harder, and the whole thing became a case study in how NOT to run a subscription business.
8.
Quibi – $1.75 Billion to Become the Fastest Flop in Streaming History
Failure Type: Overhyped, Under-delivered
Year Imploded: 2020
What Happened:
Founded by Hollywood legend Jeffrey Katzenberg and ex-HP CEO Meg Whitman, Quibi raised nearly $2B to produce “quick bites” of content — short shows designed to be watched on mobile. They launched during a global pandemic when people were literally stuck at home, but still somehow didn’t allow casting to TVs. Despite big names like Chrissy Teigen and Kevin Hart, the content was forgettable, and nobody downloaded the app.
Fallout:
Quibi shut down in just 6 months, burning through nearly $1 billion in cash. Investors like Disney, Alibaba, and Goldman Sachs got nothing. The platform’s content was later sold off for pennies on the dollar. It’s now widely considered one of the most expensive and spectacular failures in the history of entertainment.
7.
Enron – When an Entire Empire Was Built on Lies
Failure Type: Fraud, Corruption
Year Imploded: 2001
What Happened:
Enron was once America’s most admired company, known for its rapid growth and complex energy trading business. But behind the scenes, executives were using shady accounting practices (like “mark-to-market” accounting) to fake profits and hide debt. They created hundreds of off-books entities to keep billions in liabilities off their balance sheet, fooling investors and regulators alike.
Fallout:
When the truth came out, Enron’s stock plummeted from $90 to less than $1. More than 20,000 employees lost their jobs and retirement savings. The scandal brought down accounting giant Arthur Andersen and led to massive reforms in corporate governance (hello, Sarbanes-Oxley Act). Several top execs, including CEO Jeff Skilling, went to federal prison.
6.
Borders – The Bookstore That Helped Amazon Take Over
Failure Type: Tech Blindness
Year Imploded: 2011
What Happened:
In the early 2000s, Borders was a titan in the book retail world. But instead of developing its own e-commerce platform, it outsourced online book sales to Amazon. While its competitor Barnes & Noble launched the Nook, Borders ignored e-books and continued focusing on CDs and DVDs — just as streaming took over.
Fallout:
Borders was obliterated by the very tech it ignored. With over 10,000 employees and 399 stores, the chain declared bankruptcy in 2011 and was liquidated. It became a classic example of what happens when legacy businesses fail to adapt.