Failure comes in many shapes and forms. A product can fail in the trials and tests, making investors pull out of the deal immediately, only for it to become a big deal later on. Sometimes what starts as a bad idea, just needs some more time to settle.
These products started as fails and their roads to success was filled with missteps and a lot of quick fixes until they managed how to hit their mark or at least how to get enough faithful followers to be remembered.
They were nearly abandoned before managing to thrive, proving you don’t need magic to succeed but dedication, and a little bit of luck.
1
Ford Edsel
The car that had everything, except appeal.
2
Arch Deluxe
The “fancy” burger that confused customers who just wanted some fries.
3
Apple Newton
A cool idea, but had terrible handwriting recognition.
4
WD-40
The 39th formula didn’t work, the 40th did, a product literally built on failure.
5
BIC for fer pens
Same pen, now with pink plastic.
6
Coca-Cola BlāK
A coffee-cola hybrid that was supposed to be sophisticated but ended up being like gasoline.
7
Bubble wrap
Invented as wallpaper, flopped until someone used it for packaging.
8
James Dyson’s airblade
Ridiculed at first for weak air flow, now it's the standard for hand dryers.
9
Amazon Fire phone
Tried to compete with Apple but missed the mark.
10
Google glass
Innovation on your face, literally. But made you look awkward.
11
Colgate beef lasagna
A toothpaste brand serving dinner. Innovative.
12
Post-it notes
Failed super-glue attempts turned into a wonder when people realized they needed removable notes.
13
Segway
Hyped to revolutionize travel but ended up a mall cop thing.
14
Microsoft Zune
Solid tech but had zero soul.
15
Crystal Pepsi
Clear cola, sounded futuristic, was just Sprite.
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