I present two examples to illustrate this thesis. The first example is concerned with a fundamentally brilliant idea, which came at a suitable time when it was developed. It was about designing, producing and distributing an automatic postcard vending machine, intended for postcard retailers in France and meant to greatly reduce postcard theft. However, the product never came out and the company set up to produce it filed for bankruptcy a year after its creation. This is typically what a dead-end type of project is: a lot of risk, and little value created for customers and users. The problems and mistakes that were made in terms of product design and technical development as well as in terms of marketing and positioning swallowed up the initial capital.