Sprouter is Shutting Down
Update: Sprouter was acquired in October 2011 and will continue its service.
On August 2nd, Sprouter will be closing its doors and shutting down.
We’re devastated to have to shut down the service but unfortunately, due to capital constraints, we’ve simply run out of options.
It has been an incredible journey and we’re heartbroken not to be able to continue on.
We’ve demonstrated that there is significant demand for this type of service. We have an incredible community of members so enthusiastic that they actively encourage others to join. Sprouter has grown almost entirely on this type of evangelism and our membership has continued to grow by considerable amounts each week.
The Sprouter community spans the globe and we’ve been privileged to participate in so many local startup scenes. From Toronto to New York to London to Mumbai and Sydney – we’ve been humbled to meet so many incredible entrepreneurs and be a part of so much early stage innovation.
We’ve been blown away by the amazing thought leaders who have come forward to lend their time and expertise. We’re incredibly grateful to all of the prolific investors and business leaders who have given their personal time to answer questions from first time startup founders.
We’re currently exploring options for all of our content, including our weekly publication. Sprouter Weekly has been incredibly successful in its own right and if it’s at all possible for us to continue with it, we will.
We want to thank all of our members, our experts and everyone who has supported us along the way.
~ The Sprouter Team
144 Responses to “Sprouter is Shutting Down”
Leave a Reply
I agree with Dan’s comments above. It does seem strange for a site which is all about business development, to have had practically no plan for generating revenue. You have a real community here, so why not try to take advantage of that and keep something going?
This is very sad.
Before deciding to shut down, I think you should have reached out to us and asked for a solution. Many entrepreneurs find your site very valuable. Sprouter could remain as a non for profit or could turn into a Freemium model. I’m sure there are many other ways. I think the decision to shut down is made too quickly. I suggest you revise the decision, and ask the community to collectively think of a solution that will make the company a viable business. It’s not too late. We can still think of a solution. There are lots of smart people passionate for Sprouter here.
Sarah,
I reached out to you earlier this week with a funding idea. It can be adapted to sprouter.
Small businesses are the economic generator of our economy. Sprouter is a valuable resource for our economic engine, and future employers. Please delay shut down and consider my idea.
Steve
Hello Ms. Sarah,
I reached out to you via email regarding funding options. I would be more then willing to assume the server expense to keep a website such as this running. I agree with *RescuePenguin* that this website is very valuable resource for our economic engine and would like to have the opportunity to protect such an asset. Please consider writing back to me via email so we can discuss this in details.
-
Sunny
CEO of GraviLogic / GamerGaia
You guys aren’t even going to try to raise any money at all? You could ask for donations, create premium memberships, sell merchandise, etc. – anything might work, it’s worth giving it a shot.
Hello,
I heard about this only today and it is so sad that such a service is going to end. There must be thousands of companies which benefited from your service and I feel nothing wrong in reaching out to them for funding. I am sure people will do there best to help save sprouter.
Good luck
So sorry to hear Sprouter is closing! For Toronto entrepreneurs looking to network and to learn, please check out Success Circle http://www.successcircle.ca.
This is the fundamental problem with social startups. They adopt the approach of trying to build a multi-million-member audience first, then try to figure out how to monetize it later. That’s a hobby, not a business model and unfortunately, the greatest of good intentions will never change that.
Here’s hoping you get it right the next time around and that there is indeed a next time around for you guys, even if you go your separate ways.
R. Belle
Strategic Business Model Architect &
Global Business Development Specialist
It was very disheartening when I first got the sad news. I see there is so much support from sprouter community. Wikipedia recently asked for donations and so many people donated generously. Is there no way Sarah you going to change your decision.
E. Razvi
Chief Information Architect
1800BusinessCards.com
Can I buy over the company? And have everyone on this thread help support Sprouter!
A number of people have reached out to Sarah. This service can be saved. I am left with the impression that she does not want to save it. She did not respond to my email. I’ve added an email account to my non profit. smallbiz@globalrescue.org If anyone wants to be notified of a similar service when it comes up, or any one has created one feel free to email me.
I alone will control this list, and will never give it out. I will never spam either, I hate spam and spammers.
Steve
Sprouter is a good idea, and is it possible to get some funding maybe based on convertable debt or something similar?
Or sell it on flippa?
[...] http://sprouter.com/blog/sprouter-is-shutting-down/ [...]
I agree. Maybe you could hold a contest and allow the community to generate profitability ideas to keep this site running. There are so many forums out there that are full of useless misleading garbage. If you could direct this to a full on community orientated website to keep the costs minimal on your behalves, than progress can definitely be made.
Hi Sarah and team,
I’m curious what you think it would take to keep Sprouter going in terms of expenses etc. I’m not sure what your needs might be before offering credible help but I’d like to understand. Is it thousands, tens of thousands or ?
Thx Russ
maybe they are heavily in debt and any new cash raised will have to go to debts instead of using any new cash to continue to finance an idea that appears to have became a lifestyle. We already know there is no plan to make money – what would be interesting to know is, what areas the debt was accumulated and who is getting burned by non payment. i used the e-myth program and it was a true source of real planning and systems direction.
Giving up so easily…what a bunch of losers!
[...] while Sprouter is “heartbroken” to be closing its doors and its investors are undoubtedly disappointed, it is not all bad news, as [...]
I am very disappointed to learn that this service will be shutting down. Knowing how valuable the advice has been on this site I have a suggestion. Would it be possible for you to make available in the form of an online download or a DVD all the questions and responses to date so people can have them offline for reference?
Thanks,
Pradeep
Pradeep,
Try downloading Portable offline explorer on cnet and export the project to wherever you’d like to store it on your computer.
Total space of answers & blog pages are 400mb.
Cheers!
[...] symbolise à elle seule le caractère express d’une décision annoncée mardi 26 juillet sur le blog de la start-up. « Nous sommes dévastés de devoir fermer ce service mais malheureusement, pour des raisons [...]
I am very disappointed to read about your situation but every event has the potential to have a positive outcome. Check our our website and touch base. I would like to share our plans with you. You may find them timely and interesting.
Kind regards,
V
Sad! Very Sad. I think you should ask your experts how can you generate revenue on Sprouter. I really liked the idea of Sprouter ver 1.0 (business twitter) it was super useful.
It’s a sad news that it is shutting down. We have a nice community here.But in the end what we can do?
Looking at the Flickr pics, I think Sarah was on holiday more than she was in the office.
One song keeps popping up in my mind: The Eagles – Take the money and run
LMNOB – that would be Steve Miller Band. As for an Eagles song, I would call her decision, Desperado!
This is unfortunate news but there are people on here smart enough to see the potential. This site could compete with GoBigNetwork if they had the right revenue model.
Chris Lusk
Founder
SponsorLegion.com
Also judging from all the pics, you gals were pretty busy gallivanting all over the world spending up all your budget. I mean a startup definitely needs PR, but it looks like you could’ve been a little more thrifty about it.
That an the mismanagement of capital, and not reaching out to solicit your users is an epic fail on your part.
[...] http://sprouter.com/blog/sprouter-is-shutting-down/ [...]
I only just discovered your site today and I ditto this comment…
“This is very sad.
Before deciding to shut down, I think you should have reached out to us and asked for a solution. Many entrepreneurs find your site very valuable. Sprouter could remain as a non for profit or could turn into a Freemium model. I’m sure there are many other ways. I think the decision to shut down is made too quickly. I suggest you revise the decision, and ask the community to collectively think of a solution that will make the company a viable business. It’s not too late. We can still think of a solution. There are lots of smart people passionate for Sprouter here.”
Will the SproutUp events still happen?
[...] Media attention (an accelerator looking for ego PR will turn you into a PR monkey – this is what happens if you spend all your time being a conference darling without building a viabl…) [...]
[...] Media attention (an accelerator looking for ego PR will turn you into a PR monkey – this is what happens if you spend all your time being a conference darling without building a viabl…) [...]
Ratings auctions is where it’s at in this economy. If there was a forum to get serious answers on how to proceed or help that would be great.
[...] you’d like to speak with Sprouter’s founder Sarah Prevette about the company’s return and acquisition please let me know and I’d be happy to [...]
[...] it was shtting down the site in early August due to capital constraints. Sprouter was still exploring options for [...]
[...] made a very tough decision in early August. They announced that they were shutting down. A decision that would send all those involved with the company in separate directions, which was [...]
[...] Postmedia will have to succeed where Sprouter couldn’t—in making money. (Comments on the Sprouter blog noted the irony in a startup that advised other startups on how to be successful going broke.) The [...]
what a pity I’d only recently found your site
We recently announced we’ve been acquired and the site will continue!
Pity for us, it would be nice to finally be number one in Google for the word “sprouter.” Just kidding. We’re all about your success. Glad to know you’re back where your customers want you.
[...] site dedicated to helping startups by attracting successful entrepreneurs to answers questions, announced it will be shutting down August 2nd. Founder Sarah Prevette cited, “capital constraints” as the cause of the [...]
[...] site dedicated to helping startups by attracting successful entrepreneurs to answers questions, announced it will be shutting down August 2nd. Founder Sarah Prevette cited, “capital constraints” as the cause of the [...]
Unquestionably believe that which you said. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the web the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while people think about worries that they just do not know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks
Real petty …