This is the third entry in our Shutdown Files series. Most startup failures end with investors losing everything. This one is different, and that difference is the whole story.
The Company
Secret was an anonymous social app founded by David Byttow and Chrys Bader, launched in early 2014. The idea was to let people post whatever was actually on their mind, without their name attached, to friends and networks pulled from their phone contacts. It spread fast, pulled in press coverage, and raised about 35 million dollars from investors including Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, and Google Ventures, at one point being talked about as a 100 million dollar company.
What Actually Went Wrong
Anonymity was the entire product, and it turned out to be the entire problem. Instead of honest venting, the app quickly filled up with bullying, harassment, and rumors that could be traced back to real people even without a name attached. Usage declined as the app’s own users grew uncomfortable with what the platform had become. By early 2015, less than a year and a half after launch, Byttow concluded that the product had drifted far from what he originally intended to build.
When They Decided to Give Up
Byttow announced the shutdown on April 29, 2015. His public statement was unusually direct for a founder closing a company. He said Secret did not represent the vision he had when starting the company, and that shutting it down was the right decision for himself, the investors, and the team. That is a rare thing to hear from a founder. Most closures come with a story about market conditions. This one came with an admission that the product itself had become something its own creator no longer stood behind.
What Investors Got
This is the part of the story that makes Secret unusual among failed startups. Byttow chose to wind the company down in an orderly way and return the remaining capital to investors, reportedly around 10 million dollars out of the 35 million raised. That is still a significant loss for the investors involved, but it stands in sharp contrast to companies that raise money, spend all of it, and leave investors with nothing. Byttow also committed to deleting the anonymous data the app had collected on its way out, rather than trying to sell it or repurpose it.
What Happened Next
David Byttow stayed in the startup and technology world after Secret closed, moving into new ventures and later engineering leadership roles rather than trying to relaunch a version of the same idea. Secret’s story became a common reference point in later debates about anonymous social apps, cited whenever a new one launches as a reminder of how quickly that format can turn harmful at scale.
Why We Wrote This
This is the third entry in our Shutdown Files series, following Quibi and Homejoy. Learn more about how we approach stories like this on our Brand Guidelines page, or read about what Wolvra stands for on our About Us page. Have a shutdown story we should cover? Reach us through Contact Us.