Why Start-Ups Fail: Avoiding the Traps on the Path to Commercial Success

A shocking 90% of start-ups fail. Many of these failures are preventable, but you need to understand the causes and how to avoid them – both as an entrepreneur and an investor.

From technology to the market, from leadership to money, there are numerous reasons why your start-up will fail. Bernie Bulkin – who has been at both sides of the investment table – guides you through the six major reasons why start-ups fail, and how to avoid them.

Instead of accepting failure as inevitable, this book breaks down the main reasons why start-ups fail and how to turn them on their head. Whether you’re a founder or an investor, if you’re going to put in the time, money, and effort to ensure a company succeeds, you should go in with your eyes open. Bernie’s common-sense approach offers the experience of a venture capitalist who has been there and done that.

Leadership at all levels makes a difference. Using real-life examples, and applying behavioural economics to venture decision-making, Why Start-Ups Fail spotlights what founders most often lack, and shares the who, how, and why of making a start-up succeed and avoiding the traps blocking your path to commercial success.

• Publication date: 5 March 2026
• Page count: 240
• Dimensions: Height 242 mm; Width 166 mm; Thickness 24 mm
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Format: Hardback
• Language: English
• ISBN-13: 9781399430227