The final decision to shut down came after realizing that the business model was not sustainable and that it was time to start fresh. I was tremendously lucky to have supportive investors who believed in the mission of Poppy, which made it easier to communicate the difficult decision to shut down.

I explored three options: pivoting the business, seeking acquisition, or shutting it down completely, ultimately deciding to close Poppy.

The decision to shut down was influenced by the realization that our initial hypothesis about the business model wasn't panning out as expected.

When faced with the decision to lay off employees, my co-founder George and I chose to uphold our core values instead and kept the entire team together, asking everyone to take deep cuts to weather the storm.

When faced with a failing project, it's often best to shut it down rather than invest more resources into it.

I realized that the childcare market is inherently margin-challenged, making it difficult to scale Poppy effectively.

I felt a grieving process after shutting down Poppy, as it was a significant part of my life and identity for several years.

We had to make tough decisions during the pandemic, including layoffs, but I aimed to do it with compassion and transparency.

When laying off employees due to financial constraints, it can actually improve morale among remaining staff, as they see the founder is committed to the company's survival.