That doesn't seem totally fair. To say they were on their way down is pretty negative. Sure maybe some of their explosive growth was slowing down but I know more than a few still had some tricks up their sleeves. Outside of Tumblr and Lexity, Astrid and Summly were poised to continue to innovate since the founders/team have products that continue to surprise.
At the end of the day, some of the startups are by founders who are pretty early in their careers (e.g. Summly) and would like to have a win under their belt. Yahoo's shopping spree seems to validate a lot of successful products not just in terms of popularity but also talent and product innovation.
At the end of the day, some of the startups are by founders who are pretty early in their careers (e.g. Summly) and would like to have a win under their belt. Yahoo's shopping spree seems to validate a lot of successful products not just in terms of popularity but also talent and product innovation.