Failed 2015
Clinkle
22-year-old raises $30M from celebrity investors, spends it on parties and hype before shipping a functional product.
Founded → Closed
2011 → 2015
Funding Raised
$30M
Industry
Fintech/Payments
Country
USA
IdeaProof AI Failure Score
78/100
Market Fit Risk
15
Burn Rate Risk
80
Founder Risk
90
Full Analysis
Clinkle was a mobile payments app that raised $30M — the largest seed round in Silicon Valley history at the time — from an all-star investor list. Founder Lucas Duplan was 22 and had never shipped a product. The company was plagued by lavish spending, employee turnover (including a famous "Clinkle is dying" blog post), and constant product delays. Clinkle never launched a viable product and quietly shut down.
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