Quidd
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Quidd (Quidd, Inc.), co-founded by Michael Bramlage and launched in 2017, was a digital-collectibles marketplace pitched as the 'world's leading marketplace' for ledger-based memorabilia. It raised a $13 million Series A led by Sequoia Capital, licensed over 325 major IP brands (Disney, Marvel, HBO, Cartoon Network, CBS, the NBA), generated over $10 million in transaction value, and was acquired by Animoca Brands (with Harmony) in 2019 for about $8 million ($5M upfront).
02 / Quidd FAILURE REASONS
Why it shut down
Quidd burned heavily to acquire its first users - peaking at 800,000 monthly active users on its mobile app - but failed to retain them (falling to around 200,000), and was 'not that good at making an engaging game' despite the licenses. When the NFT market collapsed after its 2022 peak (market oversaturation, declining values, waning consumer interest), Quidd could not survive: in January 2025 it announced its closure, ceasing operations on January 3, 2025 (finalized January 31, 2025). The shutdown announcement gave no specific reasons.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Operations ended
Quidd stopped marketplace operations on 3 January 2025 and scheduled the shutdown to be completed by 31 January. Its closure notice did not disclose a specific reason.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / AFTERMATH
Lessons
- Licenses don't equal engagement: Quidd held 325 top-tier IPs but never built a sticky product; user acquisition without retention is just expensive.
- Cyclical markets punish the latecomers to the pivot: Quidd moved into NFTs but the 2022-2024 market collapse erased the category's oxygen.