Failed 2025
Cushion
A niche app to negotiate bank fee refunds has a small addressable market and high customer acquisition costs.
Founded → Closed
2016 → 2025
Funding Raised
$22M
Industry
Fintech
Country
USA
IdeaProof AI Failure Score
48/100
Market Fit Risk
40
Burn Rate Risk
60
Founder Risk
15
Full Analysis
Cushion built an app that automatically negotiated bank fees, overdraft charges, and credit card late fees on behalf of users. While the concept was appealing, the addressable market was limited and customer lifetime value was low. The company couldn't scale cost-effectively and shut down in 2025.
Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?
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