Friendster
Said no to Google. Said yes to oblivion.
CAUSE OF DEATH: Turned down $30 million from Google in 2003. Sold for $26.4 million six years later.
Venture Capital, Patents, One Fatal No
67% hot · 3 votes
Friendster went live in 2003 and had 3 million users within months. That year Google offered $30 million for it. Friendster said no. Six years, at least $45 million of investor money and one fired CEO later, the whole company sold to a Malaysian firm for $26.4 million. Facebook then bought its patents for a reported $40 million, which means the paperwork was worth more than the product. In 2009 The Onion ran a segment treating the site as an archaeological relic. It relaunched as a gaming site in 2011 and shut down on June 14, 2015. The name is a blend of "friend" and Napster. It ended like both.