So they spent money foolishly, hired too much, and assumed that the gravity of business expenses didn't matter? That sounds like most failed businesses I've see

So they spent money foolishly, hired too much, and assumed that the gravity of business expenses didn't matter? That sounds like most failed businesses I've seen or heard. If the basic economics of a business don't work, it will fail eventually. You have to make more money than you spend. If you can't do that you don't have a business, you have a very expensive and time consuming hobby.