In the startup world, founders have been taught that "success" means things other than making money, such as large "valuations" that are not tied to profit or even revenue.
Another founder "success" is VC or angel funding, or getting on some list ("top founders under 30!") or media coverage.
"Exit" is also a "success" even if the sale is underwater or not worth much.
> You could also say they didnt identify how to make money.
For a time, there was a school of thought that as long as you had incredible growth/usage for your app or service, making money wasn't important because someone would buy you.
I believe the answer rests in offering a solution to a problem that is worth more time than money to solve on one's own, or a new solution that creates more opportunities for a customer to grow their profitability.
The big question is how do you get people to give you money for your services/product. Classically people answer this with emphasis on the idea.