#lovework
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
A mobile application for leadership development and team training.
02 / #lovework FAILURE REASONS
Failure factors supported by the current evidence
Founder Josh Allan Dykstra wrote that #lovework missed its 2023 goal of 10,000 paid users after multiple fundraising attempts and sales effort, and that 2023 macro conditions (including SVB/capital-market stress, HR-tech/SaaS constriction, and rising rates) plus an under-funded product were headwinds the company could not overcome.
The company attempted multiple fundraises in 2023 and did not overcome being an under-funded product.
The founder attributed 2023 headwinds to SVB/capital-market stress, HRTech/SaaS constriction, and rising interest rates.
The company did not reach its stated goal of 10,000 paid users.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Operations ended
In his 2024 year-in-review (2 Jan 2025), Dykstra wrote he spent the first half of 2024 trying to keep #lovework alive, nearly completed a sale that did not close, then let the business go; a later 4 Nov 2025 post states he closed #lovework, his tech company.
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 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Founder Josh Allan Dykstra confirmed that he closed #lovework, his technology company, ending its operations.
- 02
No bankruptcy filing, asset sale, or acquisition connected to the shutdown has been publicly documented.
- 03
After the closure, the founder stated that he was left without income for an extended period, drew down his retirement savings, entered a forbearance program on his mortgage, and relied on unemployment benefits and food assistance.