Jawbone

Jawbone raised nearly $1 billion across its lifetime but couldn't survive the wearable wars. Once a pioneer in Bluetooth headsets and fitness trackers (UP band), the company was outmaneuvered by Fitbit, Apple Watch, and cheaper Chinese alternatives. Persistent quality issues with the UP fitness tracker—including devices dying within months—eroded consumer trust. The company pivoted to a clinical-grade health device (Jawbone Health) in 2017 but ran out of runway. Despite backing from Silicon Valley's most prestigious VCs, Jawbone couldn't compete on price, quality, or ecosystem. The lesson: in consumer hardware, you must win on both product quality AND price, because switching costs are nearly zero.