Propzy’s closure and the “premature deaths” of popular startups

From Prozy closing…

According to information from Deal Street Asia, Propzy, a popular startup in the field of real estate technology (proptech) has closed its operations since Monday.

Propzy, a real estate technology startup, has been closed since Monday.

Propzy was once considered a bright star in the field of real estate technology when receiving large investments from foreign investment funds. As of 2020, the company has raised $37 million in 3 funding rounds, with the participation of popular investment funds. Of which, $25 million came from Gaw Capital and SoftBank Ventures.

The company was founded by American overseas Vietnamese, John Le in July 2015. Propzy is considered the first company in Vietnam to apply modern technology to provide a solution for real estate transactions in a closed process. , which helps to directly connect customers who are buyers and sellers with each other. As revealed by Propzy, the company has made over $1 billion worth of real estate transactions since its launch, becoming the largest online and offline real estate transaction platform in Vietnam. .

However, recently, Propzy has continuously made small moves. According to TechinAsia, they have laid off 50% of their staff starting from September 2021, amid business model restructuring. And at the end of May, they dissolved Propzy Services. And although recently, they are being considered by 99 Group, a company also operating in the field of Proptech, to consider buying. However, the deal still has “many uncertainties”.

It can be seen that the difficulty of raising capital, the disadvantage due to the pandemic along with the global economic instability and many more problems have made Propzy unable to maintain operations.

…to the “premature deaths” of Startup

According to a research data on the “death” of startups, CB Insights, a global database and business analytics platform, has come up with a frightening statistic, up to 70% of new technology companies. The global float fails, usually just 20 months after the initial funding (with an average funding total of about $1.3 million).

Airlift, a popular Pakistani startup, also shut down recently.

Fueled by economic uncertainty and investor skepticism, venture capital funding has continued to plummet recently, according to CB Insights. In fact, global funding for startups fell 23% q-o-q to $108.5 billion in Q2 2022, the biggest quarterly drop in nearly a decade.

While some companies face various difficulties, such as data breaches and lack of product vision clarity, the majority of startups have given up recently due to lack of clarity. capable of raising new capital in this harsh fundraising environment.

Take for example the case of Airlift, the Pakistan-based company specializing in carpooling courier services, which has announced that it will cease operations in mid-July. Despite having raised a Series B 85 round million USD in August 2021, which at the time seemed to signal a promising future, but the company was unable to complete the funding round it had planned for this year. The company was forced to close, because it could not meet the funding requirements to continue operating

Or like on-demand virtual room service platform Butler had to lay off its entire workforce of up to 1,000 employees in May. Subsequent reports indicated that the company had indeed collapsed. The closure was a surprise to the hotel’s customer base, leaving many scrambling to find alternatives to serve their guests.

According to TechCrunch, Butler’s demise is a cautionary tale of both the opportunities and challenges that exist in the world of startups. Economic and social uncertainties and extreme public health winds are causing many startups to struggle and fail.

Or before that was the “death” of Wefit Vietnam.

In Vietnam, the failure of WeFit is one of the typical examples. Launched in mid-2016 by Founder Khoi Nguyen, WeFit is an application that connects Gyms, Yoga, Boxing, Zumba… with customers with the goal of creating favorable conditions and saving time and costs for users. use.

However, there were fluctuations that prevented Wefit from “surviving”, firstly the difficulties in cash flow at the end of the year, besides the fact that they were “overstretched” with the money received from investors. invest. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic had a heavy impact and was the “last straw on the camel” for Wefit, forcing them to stop working while the capital was dwindling.

As you can see, amid economic uncertainty and investor skepticism, these are tough times for startups. Companies that do not know how to overcome the challenges of the present time, are likely to fail.