Protonn closing its operations last week was one of the disappointing news from our Indian startup ecosystem. The sad news was circulated throughout the print and social media platforms. While we can’t reverse the decision of the company’s founders, however, we will attempt to dig down reasons that forced the company to shut down its business within one year.
The best way to look after reasons for the company’s failure to pivot forward in its endeavor was to hear from the horse’s mouth. The company’s founders named Anil Goteti and Mausam Bhatt cited out that they could not find a market-fit product for their business. A market-fit product is one that has a defined solution for a defined user. Anil Goteti and Mausam Bhatt said they failed to create a product around which they could build their market image and business.
Protonn was a Bangalore-based startup that used to offer digital solutions to help their customers launch their online business. The digital solutions provider was founded by the two former employees of Flipkart namely Anil Goteti and Mausam Bhatt back in 2020.
Protonn had received around $9 million in its seed funding round from Matrix Partners India and other investors. The company claims to have returned all the raised amount of $9 million funds back to its investors following its suspension of business operations.
Not all startups find success for one or the other reasons. Some fail for lack of funds, mismanagement, etc while others fail for wrong products, and Protonn is a perfect example of the latter as it could not develop a fitting product for its target customers. Their shutdown decision is a lesson for other entrepreneurs. A useful lesson for all new entrepreneurs is that they should do a proper product research before starting its mass production and promotion.