The most dreadful mistakes happen even to the best of the best. Regardless of research and projections, Investments are still made; when ventures turn into disasters, what’s left is a lesson to be learned.

Here are ten lessons that you can learn from five of the decade’s most popular Investment Disasters:

Optiva, a nano-tech company that developed a process to laminate flat-screen TV sets, had to shut down and sell its assets after it failed to continue to raise funding. Though it initially raised and spent millions of dollars in venture capital, the problem was that it took too long to discharge its product. It shifted focus while technology changed. By the time it came to market, it was already obsolete.

This is a guest post written by Lauren Dzuris. Lauren runs FindMyCarSeat, a car seat website that has several brands from Graco Car Seats to Evenflo Car Seats, as well as having several tips and advice on everything from pregnancy to caring for your baby.