The Failure Museum is a curated collection of over 1,000 items representing failed products and companies

Theranos and Pets.com are among some of the biggest startup failures ever

You might have heard of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes’s one-time blood testing company that landed the founder in prison for more than a decade after she was charged with fraud. The rest of the startups on a list of five of the biggest startup failures ever might not be as famous as Theranos, but they were met with similarly disastrous fates.

IPOs that failed

Plenty of private companies fail once they try to go public. Failing can mean shares sell for less than their initial asking price on its IPO date, or it can look like a company pulling out of the IPO process at the last minute. Some companies with failed IPOs include Pets.com, Etsy, and Robinhood. Learn more about these companies and others here.

'I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.'

-Inventor and businessman Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

The Girlboss TV show is generally regarded as a failure

Sophia Amoruso’s memoir, “#Girlboss,” spawned more than just a cultural movement—it also inspired an ill-fated television show that is remembered as one of Netflix’s first major failures.

A massive list of wildly specific museums

The definition of a museum varies depending on who you ask and where you find yourself. Need proof? Check out this list of over 80 museums—dedicated to niche interests like hand fans, hovercrafts, and celebrity leftovers (really).

Watch a guided video tour of the Museum of Malware Art

The site includes installations, sculptures, textiles, musical pieces, and galleries inspired by malicious software and related technologies, including the ILOVEYOU virus, encryption protocols from ransomware attacks, and the Industroyer malware framework used by Russia to cut power to Ukraine.

One of Henry Ford's early failed business ventures later became Cadillac

Before founding the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford started two businesses that ultimately failed because he didn't get a product to market quickly enough. The Henry Ford Company pushed Henry Ford out in 1902, only to later reform and be renamed after the founder of Detroit, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac.

Critics choose the 2025 ‘Worst in Show’ awards for CES products

Under the motto “Not all innovation is good innovation,” The Repair Association has selected products at CES that are the least private, sustainable, or repairable for consumers—as well as the “Who asked for this?” award. For example, the least repairable award went to the $2,200 Ultrahuman Rare Luxury Smart ring, which can only be charged 500 times—and replacing the battery effectively destroys it.

Sears failed to evolve in a changing economy

At its peak, Sears was the largest retailer in the world, making elite objects accessible to the middle class. But in 2018, the company officially filed for bankruptcy due to massive debt and losses.

Explore Bessemer's anti-portfolio of missed opportunities

From Pinterest to Yelp, Bessemer Venture Partners—one of the most well-known VC firms—has invested in many successful companies over the years. But the firm has also kicked itself for passing on a few great opportunities, like Apple and Google. Check out the other companies in Bessemer's "anti-portfolio" here.

'In my experience, each failure contains the seeds of your next success—if you are willing to learn from it.'

- Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen (1953–2018)

When a museum closes, it may need to sell or auction assets to pay off its debts, which can result in the breakup of valuable collections and the relocation of pieces to successor institutions and private collectors.

Elon Musk's $100M investment in SpaceX was lost to three failed rocket launches

The attempts with Falcon 1 endangered the company's future but provided valuable information from which to iterate and follow up with the successful first privately funded orbital launch in history and multiple ISS resupply missions.

Despite many influencers having loyal followings, creator-led brands often fail when the hype from first-time buyers dies down and doesn't translate into repeat purchases.

One odd Macy’s location is basically a museum

Here’s a list of things you wouldn’t expect to see at your average Macy’s store: a 19th-century French painting, a former midcentury children’s barbershop, nautical portholes, and the list goes on. Shoppers can find all those things and more in one unique Macy’s store in Pasadena, California.

Why did WeWork fail and why it's still around

Once valued at $47B, WeWork promised to revolutionize office space—but rapid expansion, financial red flags, and a pandemic-driven shift in work culture led to its 2023 bankruptcy. This overview looks at its rise and fall, and what’s next for the coworking giant.

Cult classics are often defined by their initial commercial failure

Whether they're films, albums, television shows, or some other work of art, cult classics usually develop ardent followings because of their early struggles, either as box office flops or modest, self-released affairs. Richard Kelly, director of cult film "Donnie Darko," explains why he believes that endears audiences.

Thingiverse is a massive free library of 3D-printable designs

The site—which was launched in 2008 by 3D-printer manufacturer MakerBot—hosts more than 2 million user-generated design files to build everything from prosthetic hands to replacement dishwasher parts (or the "Golden Snitch" from "Harry Potter). The community behind it rapidly designed and shared files for face shields and ventilator components amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

2023's worst performing US IPOs

While an IPO is a huge milestone, it isn't always a total success in the long-term. This data visualization shows some of the worst-performing IPOs of 2023, based on their percentage returns at the end of the year, It includes an NFT gaming company and a Chinese EV battery company.

The fascinating world of Disney's themed trash cans

One man's trash can is a literal treasure trove for Steve Tanner, the impassioned curator of this gallery of Disney's hundreds of distinct trash cans at its many parks and resorts. For 15 years, Tanner has researched and photographed the varying styles and themes of the trash cans and posted images and descriptions of them on his site, organized by location. Dive into the world of trash here.

Explore a digital graveyard of over 300 products, services, and devices that have been discontinued by Google, including Chromecast, Google+, and Google Goggles.

Malaysia is home to a massive McDonald's museum

Top Fast-Food Toy Collections Museum in the city of Alor Setar houses over 80,000 McDonald's items, including Happy Meal toys, employee uniforms, and ketchup packets.

Broadway's 10 biggest flops

For every "Carousel" or "Cabaret," there's a "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark"—a show that never found its footing, sometimes in a public and disastrous way. Here are 10 Broadway musicals the producers and stars would probably rather we forget. Some, like "The Rocky Horror Show" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's," were eventually revived and relatively well received. Others, like "Into the Light"—which involved mimes, metaphysics, and the legend of the Shroud of Turin—have rightfully stayed buried.

Surviving the crash: a personal story of burnout

Jennifer Moss founded a tech company, had a baby in the middle of the start-up process, and crashed after months of rising exhaustion and disconnection from a career she once felt passionate about. She shared her story of burnout and the techniques she used to turn her life around and repair her relationships in this piece.

Bezos has frequently cited a 1999 article titled Amazon.bomb to illustrate how dire the early predictions about Amazon got

Over the years, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos often recalls how wrong the predictions in the 1999 Barron’s cover story were. Among other things, that article declared Amazon’s entire business model to be unsustainable and destined to fail, noting its lack of profit and dependence on a massive amount of capital to fund its growth.

Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018

Although the retailer may have failed financially speaking, some argue that longevity in itself is a success—the brand operated for over 130 years before that bankruptcy filing, after all.

A failed resolution still defines directional exploration

The new year practice of making resolutions is so popular it can often inspire ironic dismissal from those all-too-aware of how many fail. This piece argues failure doesn't matter: Making the resolution itself helps define one's focus in life, arguably more important than racking up achievements.

How a failed investment bank almost became the name of a whiskey line

In the fallout of the Great Recession of 2008, Barclays bought several assets from the failed investment bank Lehman Brothers in a fire sale and maintained the company's trademark, despite the bank's collapse. Tiger Lily Ventures attempted to launch a whiskey line parodying the name, but the product was rejected in court due to questions over Barclays' maintenance of the trademark.

Many of the 2010s girlboss-era founders experienced a public fall from grace in 2020

In the 2010s, dozens of female founders were celebrated on the covers of business magazines like Inc. for their recent startup success, from Emily Weiss’s Glossier makeup brand to Steph Korey’s Away luggage company. But many of these companies were also the subject of large takedown articles around the year 2020.

Inside one of the last Sears stores in the US

Sears was once one of the most successful businesses in the US. Today, there aren’t many Sears stores left in the nation, and the ones that are still around feel more like ghost towns than meccas of retail history.

The full story of WeWork, one of the most dramatic startup journeys of all time

WeWork has been through a lot since the office space company was founded as a startup in 2010. From its failed IPO in 2019, to the various leadership antics of its founder, Adam Neumann (some have claimed that he acted like a cult leader at times), to how it navigated remote work trends during the pandemic, this video tells the full story of WeWork's growth, failures, and more.

Listen to the five-part podcast series that reconstructs how Challenger failed

The "American Scandal" podcast devotes a five-part series to Challenger, tracing the engineering warnings, internal pressure to launch, the moment of the explosion, and the long aftermath that reshaped NASA's safety culture.

Read about why America is obsessed with the stories of financial scammers.

'Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.'

- Inventor Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931)

Safely explore historic viruses and other malicious software in the Malware Museum.

Multiple business choices may have hindered Sears’ financial success

There’s no shortage of potential culprits for Sears’ death, from hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, to Amazon, to the 2008 stock market crash.

According to some estimates, roughly 75% of venture-backed startups fail, making startups inherently risky ventures.

See a gallery of the early years of CES

This gallery showcases rare photos from the early decades of CES, featuring early personal computers and the first handheld cassette players. See how the world’s biggest tech show began and grew.

An exploration of the life and death of US malls

American malls sought to recreate the cohesion of a downtown shopping center but with the indoor, quiet convenience of a rural or suburban setting. First developed in the 1950s, malls quickly took off and became the spine of American retail shopping. In the last two decades, online retail has forced many to close, leaving behind peculiar, vast abandoned spaces. Pick through the stark nostalgia with this fascinating photo essay.

The top 10 movie franchises that tried and failed with a new lead actor

Movie franchises are seen as a safe bet for film studios, but sometimes those studios switch up the lead actor in hopes of refreshing the franchise. While it can work, there are many examples of such films bombing, like with the "Terminator" and "Home Alone" franchises. This video breaks down the 10 worst cases of a failed switch in franchise lead.

'The Million Dollar Homepage' is a snapshot of a dead internet

In 2005, 21-year-old Alex Tew set out to make $1M by selling $1 pixels on his website, effectively creating a standalone internet billboard. The gambit worked, and because the advertisements were one-time payments, the site looks the same as it did in 2005, despite many of the advertised sites going defunct since.

See 10 of the artifacts on display at the Smithsonian's America at 250 exhibition

From Thomas Jefferson's portable writing desk to a first-generation iPod, the National Museum of American History is showcasing 250 objects across all three floors to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Ten defining moments at CES through the years

Iconic CES devices like the Apple Newton, CD player, VHS VCR, Sony PlayStation, and Oculus Rift “Crystal Cove” didn’t necessarily seem groundbreaking at the time. Here's a list of some defining moments from the annual show.

'Instagram traps' are changing art museums

In the creator economy era, it feels like anyone has the potential to become an influencer—if they can just capture the right content. Naturally, some places are better suited for an Instagram photo than others. Museums-turned-photo-backdrops (think: the Museum of Ice Cream) are the best of the best.

Overcoming industry skeptics, SpaceX provides low-cost, high-publicity spaceflights

From recovering and reusing rocket components to launching a mannequin and Tesla into orbit to the tune of David Bowie's "Starman," Elon Musk drove public interest and government contracts to his company as he transformed space launches into spectacles.

Abandoned Detroit: the decline of America's car mecca

Detroit, Michigan, began as a fur trading post in the 1700s but would become the world epicenter of car manufacturing in the 1900s after Henry Ford developed his paradigm-shifting assembly line at a plant there. Racial tensions, a lack of economic diversification, and poor leadership would plunge the city into poverty and decay in the late 1900s, culminating in a 2014 bankruptcy. Browse the somber images of the city's abandoned spaces here.

View artifacts at the Smithsonian that tell the story of 9/11.

The Reevo hubless ebike, the industry's great failure

The Reevo hubless e-bike came out in 2020, touted as the bicycle of the future with no hubs or spokes, a GPS tracker, a fingerprint reader, and a uniquely futuristic look. With less than 3,000 sold, you've likely never seen one, but this bike reviewer shows off the bike's nightmarishly loud noise, terrible brakes, failed smartphone pairing, and more. Watch the full review here.

Listen to Steve Jobs explain his 'rock tumbler' metaphor for teamwork.

Many critically panned cult classics did well at the box office

Franchise flops like 1997's "Batman & Robin," 1983's "Jaws 3-D," and 2015's "Fantastic Four" were panned, though that didn't stop them from selling hundreds of millions of dollars in tickets.