Cause of Death
Strategic Pivot
An internal decision ended this product — the company survived. The market was real; the product was a wrong bet.
What Happened
Disney built Go.com as its internet strategy — a Yahoo-style portal that would become the gateway to Disney content online. It acquired Infoseek for $1.7B to power it. When the dot-com bust arrived, CEO Michael Eisner exited the internet business entirely, writing off the investment and sending 400 employees home.