Failed 2024

    The Messenger

    Launching a news site in 2023 by spending $50M on staff and traffic acquisition without a sustainable revenue model is a speedrun to bankruptcy.

    Founded → Closed

    2023 → 2024

    Funding Raised

    $50M

    Industry

    Media/News

    Country

    USA

    IdeaProof AI Failure Score

    78/100
    Market Fit RiskBurn Rate RiskFounder Risk
    Market Fit Risk
    20
    Burn Rate Risk
    95
    Founder Risk
    60

    Full Analysis

    The Messenger launched in May 2023 as a centrist news outlet, hiring hundreds of journalists and spending aggressively on traffic acquisition. The site generated pageviews but couldn't convert them to sustainable ad revenue. Digital advertising CPMs for news content are at historic lows. The outlet shut down in January 2024 — just 8 months after launch — having burned through nearly all of its $50M funding.

    Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?

    IdeaProof's AI validates market demand, competitive positioning, and business model viability in minutes — catching the exact issues that sank The Messenger.