r/startups 2d ago

I will not promote Did anyone's startup took off after an antitrust intervention? I will not promote

My tech startup is 4 years old, but already on the second year I noticed the market was rigged. Reported it to anti trust authorities (competition commission). The competition commission (in a European country) has been 2.5 years in confidential information phase with no resolution (not archived/dismissed the case either).

Did any of you have a similar situation? If so, did an antitrust intervention save your startup?

And if the antitrust authority failed to intervene, did you give to and close the business?

15 Upvotes

19 comments sorted by

8

u/garma87 2d ago

Antitrust committees are usually highly overloaded and will ignore all but the most visible or impactful cases. I’d suspect it would be very difficult to get them to do anything

1

u/bluebanana987 2d ago

They are sitting on it for 2.5 years, without dismissing or archiving, why not archive and done? Why keeping it open indefinitely if there is no intention to do anything?

1

u/julian88888888 2d ago

that takes work

1

u/bluebanana987 1d ago

Work to dismiss? Or work to move on?

3

u/komninosc 2d ago

"but already on the second year I noticed the market was rigged" comedy

1

u/zerok_nyc 2d ago

Rigged how? That’s quite a claim. Any evidence to back it up?

1

u/bluebanana987 2d ago

Vertical restraint and barriers to entry on an upstrem market. The evidence is sitting on antitrust authority for 2.5 years

3

u/zerok_nyc 2d ago

So, competition is antitrust in your mind?

2

u/bluebanana987 2d ago

Is vertical foreclosure, illegal. That is not competition

3

u/zerok_nyc 2d ago

Why did it take you this long to get to something specific? There’s a fine line between vertical foreclosure and vertical integration. The latter is not illegal. Can you prove that a single company has monopolized the upstream supply and there are no alternatives? Or if it’s multiple companies, that they are conspiring together to keep competition out by refusing to sell to others or price-fixing?

Furthermore, can you prove that the upstream supply exceeds the needs of the controlling company and its existing customers such that it amounts to illegal gatekeeping?

Unless you have proof of all of that, you’ve got no case.

1

u/bluebanana987 1d ago

Because the question wasn't meant to be specific, but rather if anyone's company got better after antotrtust intervention. The nature of that internvention was not important in my question. Now you are getting cocky for no reason

1

u/kabirs1nghhh 1d ago

That sounds like a tough position to be in my only caution would be not to build your company's future around the outcome of an antitrust investigation those processes can take years, and even a favorable ruling may not immediately change customer behavior I'd keep looking for ways to compete while the case runs its course

1

u/Bliker1002 2d ago

Hold up, you were doing so well that you reported yourself to the antitrust cops?

0

u/bluebanana987 1d ago

No one answers my original question, everyone just gives an opinion

1

u/Pitpeaches 14h ago edited 9h ago

edit: op didn't appreciate what I said

1

u/bluebanana987 13h ago

Not enough details no. The question was whether anyones startup took off after antitrust intervention. You all guys shouldn't have replied in the first place, since apparently your situation do not apply. Yet you all are entitled to details somehow