[Dangeranger]

You mentioned in your post that your primary reason for shutting down was that you didn't find sufficient evidence that your product/service was meeting the needs of your users. Was there also pressure from investors to shut down due to this lack of evidence, or was this a personal decision made based on your principles?

Thank you for your consideration.

[lukethomas]

I made the decision after a lot of reflection. We still had ~6 months of runway so I could have spent more time "pivoting" around.

The issue was that what I was hearing from prospects, customers, users signaled a bigger issue that could not be solved with a product tweak or two.

At the end of the day, I felt like the story I would need to tell a future investor (and new/existing employees) would increasingly become disconnected from the reality I was experiencing talking to customers/users.

I didn't feel at peace about it at all. I considered it to be a form of lying.

[pedalpete]

This is a great answer, I felt the same way about my previous start-up Ayvri.com We make enough to cover our costs, so I've kept it going for the last 2 years.

As I kept looking for new ways for us to grow, and what pivots might work, one of our existing investors said to me [paraphasing] "we'll invest more if you know what to do with it, but I [the investor] think you should start thinking about what your next thing is. We'll invest in that, but there comes a time you need to move on".

That chat was really impactful, they were happy to see us launch a product, get customers, and try to build something really amazing (and we kinda did).

The same team that created Ayvri (most of us) have come back together to create https://soundmind.co - we haven't taken investment yet, but the same investors are ready to back us when we do.

Did you have that kind of support from your investors @Lukethomas?

I think many of us are so scared of letting our investors down, but I am super happy with the character of our investors, who supported us in the best way possible.

[carimura]

much respect. those are hard feelings to deal with especially given you had users, customers, investors, and a team to think about as well, none of which you can easily and cleanly ask for advice on this matter.