Inc.

It’s a pet project. But you have to know when to kill it

NO ONE LAUNCHES AN INITIATIVE assuming it’s going to fail. “We start with truly high hopes for any project,” says Meir Statman, a professor of finance at Santa Clara University and author of Finance for Normal People. “But then things happen.” The market shifts, a rival crowds you out, or some minor-seeming tech hurdle reveals its Gordian-knot nature. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to just walk away. “It’s very hard psychologically for people to let go of sunk costs,” Statman says. “As long as a project’s

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