Cazoo, formed in 2018 to disrupt the UK and European used-car market by digitizing car sales, rocketed to an $8 billion valuation within three years, riding a surge of venture and public funding. Its model promised customers stress-free online car buying, including home delivery and even car subscription services – a bold move to modernize a $700 billion market largely resistant to digital change. Major venture capital and a high-profile founder, Alex Chesterman, helped fuel aggressive expansion, accompanied by massive marketing investments and rapid acquisitions across Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic initially favored Cazoo, with consumers increasingly buying vehicles online. However, underneath the surface, critical problems grew. Cazoo's direct-to-consumer model involved expensive logistics, inventory management, and narrow profit margins compared to traditional dealerships. Despite exponential revenue growth, losses spiraled—with a £704 million loss recorded in 2022 alone—due to vast operational and marketing expenses, combined with thinner-than-expected per-car profits. Attempts to scale quickly across multiple countries amplified logistical complexity and costs. The shift to public markets via a SPAC merger in 2021 injected $1.6 billion but also intensified expectations for rapid profitability. As pandemic tailwinds faded, inflation and interest rates climbed, cooling consumer demand and tightening credit. A global chip shortage reduced used car supply, compounding Cazoo's sourcing challenges. Simultaneously, investor sentiment towards tech unicorns soured, eroding confidence and causing Cazoo’s share price to collapse by 98% within two years. Layoffs, asset sales, and strategic reversals—like closing continental European operations and cutting hundreds of jobs—were insufficient to stem the tide. In 2024, Cazoo attempted to pivot to an asset-light online marketplace model, retreating from direct car sales, but continued heavy losses pushed it into formal administration in May 2024. Remaining assets, including the brand and tech platform, were sold for just £5 million—a symbolic coda to a multi-billion-dollar saga. The Cazoo case highlights several key themes: the perils of rapid, debt-fueled scale in asset-heavy sectors; the importance of aligning innovative models with entrenched market behaviors (such as consumers’ desire to inspect cars in person); and the volatility of investor confidence in hyped disruptors. While Cazoo’s vision was innovative, the execution proved unsustainable under real-world constraints and changing economic conditions. Policy discussions following Cazoo’s collapse have focused on the need for greater scrutiny of fast-growing tech firms’ fundamentals, especially before public listings, and more transparent investor communications about risks in disruption-driven models. Ethically, the collapse drew attention to the profound human costs of hypergrowth strategies, from mass layoffs to upended lives, reminding the sector of its responsibility to workers, not just shareholders. Despite the bankruptcy, the Cazoo brand has been acquired with plans to relaunch as a pure marketplace, emphasizing collaboration over direct disruption—reflecting a broader shift in how tech platforms approach established industries. The lasting lesson is clear: true success in digital disruption requires not just bold ideas and deep pockets, but careful adaptation, balanced growth, and respect for the complex realities of traditional markets.