CEO Ben Kaufman shows off a Quirky product (photo credit)

Ben Kaufman clearly had a vision and did a great job convincing others that his approach to change the startup process was the right one. As soon as the company gained capital and recognition, Mr. Kaufman expanded his staff and office space making himself and the company seem bigger and greater than it really was. It is mind boggling to think that all these big time players who were on the board of directors sat back and watched the company fail over the course of six years. Somehow, no one took a step back to say, “Hey, we aren’t making any money.” Everyone got wrapped up in thinking how great they were that they forgot about the basic rules of business. It is impossible to generate revenues without a product that customers want to buy. Instead of being built to satisfy the needs of the customer, Quirky was built to satisfy the egos of the founders and investors.

No doubt, the story of Quirky will make for excellent case studies that will keep business school students busy for a long time. Mr. Kaufman seemed to enjoy the ride, though, on what was arguably his $180MM social experiment. If there’s a take away from this whole debacle, it’s to focus on (1) building great products your customers love, and (2) make sure your business model adds up. Follow those simple rules and you’ll be in good shape!