This Week in Startups · Thursday, October 1, 2026
Justin Kan described his experience with Justin.tv as a 'zombie startup' phase, where for five years, the company with 25 people struggled with flat growth and no clear exit in sight. This period of uncertainty and lack of progress led to critical brainstorming sessions, including the pivotal decision to focus on the gaming content that would eventually become Twitch.
“And it never felt like we were making progress. It never felt like there was an inflection where it was like, oh, my God, we figured it out. Yeah.”
“And so, you know, it was that zombie startup feeling where we were 25 people five years in, weren't growing super fast, and we were like, "Where does this go?" We don't see an exit in sight.”
“We don't see an exit in sight.”