CLOSED

Webtoon studio opened · CLOSED after 1 yr 6 mo

Joseph Garcia, 57 · 1 yr 6 mo

“1 and a half years as a webtoon studio owner: Never again. I mean it this time.”

I closed after 1 year and 6 months. No debt remained, just 76 customers.

On the last day, you posted the shutdown notice and turned off the servers. Cash -$5,714, debt $0, 0 employees, 76 customers. You settled the last bills and closed the laptop. The business failed, but that time did not disappear.

How it went

1. 2026 · preparing to openJoseph Garcia, 56. You have decided to try starting a company in Midwest. No idea, no product yet. Savings $67,079, no job.
2. 7/2026: what now?Start a business: «Webtoon studio» — You are going with «Webtoon studio». Still no company, no product. Now find out whether the idea is real.
3. 2026 · year 1 beginsUS Rates Rose Again
4. 8/2026: what now?Interview 20 people — 3 of 20 said they would pay. 5 only said it would be "nice to have".
5. 8/12 · Your mentorAn old mentor called. “What scares you most right now?” they asked.
6. 9/2026: what now?Decide to build it — You decided to build. Validation ends here.
7. 10/2026: what now?Build it yourself — You settled on how to build it.
8. 11/2026: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
9. 11/25 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.64%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
10. 12/2026: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
11. 1/2027: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
12. 2/2027: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
13. 2/15 · Down sickA sore throat and a fever. You got through the day in a mask.
14. 2/19 · A competitor movedA big company bolted a similar feature onto its product, free. More customers now ask, “How are you different?”
15. 3/2027: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
16. 4/2027: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
17. 5/2027: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
18. 5/7 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.64%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
19. 6/2027: what now?Launch — You pressed launch. 92 sign-ups on day one. You refreshed ten times.
20. 6/22 · Patent warning letterA cease-and-desist letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
21. 6/29 · Churn roseCancellations this week were double the usual. Many customers abandoned the payment page.
22. Time to hire?Not this time — You never posted the job ad.
23. US Rates Rose AgainSignals of Fed tightening strengthened the dollar, and this country's funding rates followed. When the USD rate jumped, costing got complicated again for anyone buying imported ingredients or parts.
24. Year 1 closeRevenue $183, loss $5,317. Cash $25,042.
25. 2027 · year 2 beginsA Quiet Year
26. 7/17 · FamilyYou talked with your family for a long time. Someone said, “You come before the money.”
27. 8/2027: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — 12 new customers this month. While the number climbs, it looks like a company.
28. 8/25 · Service outageThe payment processor went down for two hours. Not your fault, but you wrote the apology.
29. 9/2027: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 7 new customers this month. A post drew questions, and the questions turned into sign-ups.
30. 9/4 · Down sickA sore throat and a fever. You got through the day in a mask.
31. 9/23 · Your mentorLunch with an old mentor. “Forget the numbers. Are you sleeping?”
32. The numbers are inSpend more on marketing — You doubled the ad budget. More people came in, and just as many left.
33. 11/2027: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 11 new customers this month. Among the new names were people last month’s customers had sent.
34. A text offering moneyDon’t borrow — You deleted the text. This month’s bills need another way.
35. 12/2027: what now?Take a job and run it on the side — You rewrote your CV. The interviewer found the startup story interesting.
36. 12/11 · Patent warning letterA cease-and-desist letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
37. 12/16 · A fender benderA small crash on the road. Nothing broken, but your neck is stiff. Repairs and the deductible: $753.

Start simulationFounder failure stories