What are the key signs that a company or product might be heading towards failure?

Question

How can a company avoid these issues, and what role do employees play in such situations?

Vaibhav · Accepted Answer

When there's no clear roadmap or direction that is mutually agreed upon.

Answer

Those are spot-on signs. Spotting and addressing them early can make the difference between survival and failure.

Hamna Malik · Answer

I believe lack of vision from the top contributes toward the failure.

John Supsupin · Answer

I experienced working on a really good product but it never took off to production due to many revisions - conflicting ideas between founders and co-product owners has resulted to a lot of rework and too evolving product roadmap.

Udaya Sri · Answer

@vaibhavdwivedi I agree!

Udaya Sri · Answer

@johndavid9991 I get it. It’s frustrating because, as employees, there’s not much we can do to make it happen.

Answer

Some key signs are when the company keeps pivoting instead of executing on a clear vision, the team seems disengaged or disillusioned, they're burning through cash without a path to profitability, key talent is jumping ship, and the product fails to get traction or achieve product-market fit. If you see those red flags, I'd be real worried about their long-term prospects.

Janak Patel · Answer

Key signs include poor cash flow, lack of market demand, constant pivots, misaligned leadership, and declining customer satisfaction. If these persist, failure could be imminent.

Natalia Toth · Answer

The failure to find the product-market fit: if for months a company can't determine whom they're selling the product to. 
If the retention and activation rates are low and the company is not addressing the problem.
If users show no eagerness to pay and the company isn't trying to tackle it.

Answer

Lack of product-market fit is a key sign. If the company isn't consistently delivering value that customers are willing to pay for, it's not sustainable. Also watch out for high employee turnover, especially in leadership roles - that's a red flag the culture and vision are broken.

Answer

Definitely some key signs to watch out for: 1) Lack of clear vision & roadmap that the team is bought into 2) Churn of top talent & leaders 3) Slowing growth & trouble hitting targets 4) Pivoting too often without clear direction 5) Toxic culture & poor communication. If you see a combo of those, the writing is often on the wall. Gotta course correct ASAP!

Answer

A goal that's too big or a product that hasn't been live for too long.

Udaya Sri · Answer

@hamna_malik Yes, I agree!

Udaya Sri · Answer

@rahulparmar2405 Absolutely, and that depends on the top contributors to make it happen

Udaya Sri · Answer

@natalia_toth Valid points!

What are the key signs that a company or product might be heading towards failure?

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