Business

The Worst Business Decisions of All Time

The Worst Business Decisions of All Time
Being on a list that highlights the worst business decisions of all time is something every person would like to avoid, but these folks aren’t as fortunate.

The foundation of business is wheeling and dealing with other companies. B2B is where several enterprises earn their profit, unless you are one of the individuals or firms who made some of the worst business decisions of all time.

Letting Floyd Mayweather Jr. Go

Even though his fights were as exciting as watching paint dry, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is one of the greatest boxers the sport has ever seen. His undefeated record pales in comparison to his career, earning nearly a billion dollars from Pay-Per-View revenue and his business ventures.

Mayweather wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to make Scrooge McDuck money if he didn’t get the release from Bob Arum in 2006. The legendary boxing promoter let “Pretty Boy” Floyd walk for a $750,000 payout. Arum has no animosity towards Mayweather, but seeing those PPV revenue figures must sting.

A Blockbusting Failure

When Netflix came on the scene, it was nothing like today. No one could have imagined the way streaming changed the game forever. After all, Netflix was a convenient service to receive flicks in the mail. Blockbuster was the video rental giant with a stranglehold on the competition and a $3 billion valuation, but decided to pass on the unknown commodity of Netflix for $50 million.

Blockbuster’s CEO, John Antioco, not only scoffed at the $50 million proposal, but he didn’t even bother to submit a counter-proposal. The folks at Netflix got over the rejection quickly and has reigned supreme since Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11.

Hard Day’s Night

In sports, franchises often look back at past drafts or signings and imagine what life would look like if they made the right decisions. Those situations also occur in entertainment, considering a company told the Beatles to take a hike.

In 1962, the Liverpool quartet auditioned for Dick Rowe and Mike Smith from Decca Records. Once the audition ended, Decca Records had to choose between the “Fab Four” or Tremeloes. The duo from Decca made the grave mistake of letting arguably the greatest band in the history of music slip through their fingers. The Beatles signed with the unknown label EMI, turning them into a juggernaut in the music industry for the years to come.

Not So Razr Sharp

If you watch any TV shows or movies from the early aughts, you will notice that Motorola Razr phones were all the craze. Motorola was the top dog of the mobile phone market with a 22 percent market share. Unfortunately for them, that market share evaporated while the smartphone took over the world. Motorola didn’t produce its version of the smartphone until 2010, and it was too little, too late for the once-dominant tech giant. They watched their share value drop by over 80 percent because they didn’t adapt with the times.

Passing on Google

It’s wild to think that Bob Arum’s $750,000 snafu wasn’t the worst decision of that monetary figure. Excite.com’s CEO, George Bell, gave the people of Google a stiff arm when their sticker price for acquiring them was under a million bucks in 1999. Excite didn’t hang around long, as they were over and out in 2004 for $500 million. Which, coincidentally, is more than Google makes in a day.

Relishing in other people’s failures or the worst business decisions of all time may minimize the sting of any ill-conceived choices you make. Knowing you aren’t the person who passed on Google for a mere $750K should cheer you up in a flash.

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