July 23, 2019 A Chicago startup that sent stylist-selected kids clothes to parents' doors has shut down. Mac & Mia announced on its website via a note from founder Marie Tillman that "the time has come for us to say goodbye." Mac & Mia connected parents with stylists who selected pieces from Mac & Mia's inventory, and sent those items to their door in a box. Like similar services such as Trunk Club or Stitch Fix, parents could keep the clothes they wanted and send back what they didn't like. Founded in 2014, Mac & Mia raised $9 million in venture funding, including a $5 million Series A in April 2018. Its investors included Chicago Ventures, KGC Capital, Emerisque Ventures and Sam Yagan's Corazon Capital. "I'm deeply grateful for those who have been on the journey with me; the extraordinary group of stylists, our home office crew, supporters and investors, but most of all...YOU," Tillman continued in the announcement. Tillman did not respond to a request for comment. Marie Tillman is the widow of Pat Tillman, the former NFL player turned U.S. soldier who died in Afghanistan in 2004. Mac & Mia faced a host of competitors in the children's delivery box space, including the aforementioned Stitch Fix, which launched its kids clothing service in 2018. Stitch Fix went public in 2017 and has a market cap around $2.7 billion. At least 20 other upstarts have launched similar delivery services for children's clothes. Rent the Runway announced in April that it planned to launch a girls' clothing service, and earlier this year Foot Locker invested in Rockets of Awesome, another kids' clothing startup. Larger retail players like Target, Walmart, Gap and Old Navy have also launched kids' apparel box services. This is not an unfamiliar story. An individual has what seems like a great idea, runs with it and enters the market, attracts some customers, raises funding, and then... What could have gone wrong here? Apply what you have been learning about the steps one should take when looking to develop an idea into a new venture. What are some of the critical early steps that a startup would be wise to take in order avoid building something which not enough people will care about? What are some of the challenges which you see evidence of in this brief description of a 'failure" -- Did it appear that the founders expended time, talent and treasure to try and build something which would never be sustainable, or did they just drop the ball? Apply what you know about some of the most common reasons for failure and/or the types of mistakes that often seem to be made. Which may have been contributing to the demise of Mac & Mia? Could the demise of this venture have been avoided in some way? July 23, 2019 A Chicago startup that sent stylist-selected kids clothes to parents' doors has shut down. Mac & Mia announced on its website via a note from founder Marie Tillman that "the time has come for us to say goodbye." Mac & Mia connected parents with stylists who selected pieces from Mac & Mia's inventory, and sent those items to their door in a box. Like similar services such as Trunk Club or Stitch Fix, parents could keep the clothes they wanted and send back what they didn't like. Founded in 2014, Mac & Mia raised $9 million in venture funding, including a $5 million Series A in April 2018. Its investors included Chicago Ventures, KGC Capital, Emerisque Ventures and Sam Yagan's Corazon Capital. "I'm deeply grateful for those who have been on the journey with me; the extraordinary group of stylists, our home office crew, supporters and investors, but most of all...YOU," Tillman continued in the announcement. Tillman did not respond to a request for comment. Marie Tillman is the widow of Pat Tillman, the former NFL player turned U.S. soldier who died in Afghanistan in 2004. Mac & Mia faced a host of competitors in the children's delivery box space, including the aforementioned Stitch Fix, which launched its kids clothing service in 2018. Stitch Fix went public in 2017 and has a market cap around $2.7 billion. At least 20 other upstarts have launched similar delivery services for children's clothes. Rent the Runway announced in April that it planned to launch a girls' clothing service, and earlier this year Foot Locker invested in Rockets of Awesome, another kids' clothing startup. Larger retail players like Target, Walmart, Gap and Old Navy have also launched kids' apparel box services. This is not an unfamiliar story. An individual has what seems like a great idea, runs with it and enters the market, attracts some customers, raises funding, and then... What could have gone wrong here? Apply what you have been learning about the steps one should take when looking to develop an idea into a new venture. What are some of the critical early steps that a startup would be wise to take in order avoid building something which not enough people will care about? What are some of the challenges which you see evidence of in this brief description of a 'failure" -- Did it appear that the founders expended time, talent and treasure to try and build something which would never be sustainable, or did they just drop the ball? Apply what you know about some of the most common reasons for failure and/or the types of mistakes that often seem to be made. Which may have been contributing to the demise of Mac & Mia? Could the demise of this venture have been avoided in some way