Invision’s Bust: An Astro Perspective
When I got an email from Invision a few weeks ago announcing the company’s last days, I was honestly shocked. Granted, I hadn’t used the product in years, but I wasn’t its core customer either. It was simply a product I used as a stakeholder with my design team. When it was introduced to me in 2014, Invision solved a vital pain point on our team. Before that, I’d been accustomed to giving designers either direct verbal feedback or written feedback on a printed version of the digital design — a cumbersome process.
After using the product a few times, I couldn’t “envision” living without Invision 😀. But I guess I did eventually live without it, as a few years later my design team adopted other tools. There are already a few theories out there about why the company went bust, including posts from Proof of Concept and UX Design that I won’t be repeating verbatim here. My point in writing this article is to look at the company from an astrological point of view. Can I see the themes everyone is talking about in the company’s astrological chart? Can I see something in the chart that has not been addressed?
Reading Invision’s Business Chart
As I mentioned in my post announcing this series, I have not had a lot of experience analyzing business charts. So this will be a learning experience for me. I’m using the date and time stamp of when the company’s website first went live for its “birth or natal chart.” There are a few ways to calculate a company’s natal chart, such as the time of incorporation or the company’s first sale. But it’s often hard to find an exact time stamp for those events. If they are a publicly traded company, astrologers will often use the date and time the company started trading. When I found the exact timestamp of the company’s first website capture using the “wayback machine” I was overjoyed.
When examining a chart, I focus on the big picture first and then drill down into the details. In this chart, most of the planets are in the 4th quadrant, which can indicate there are larger forces at work beyond the company’s control. The chart has a heavier weighting of planets in Air signs but a decent amount in both Earth and Fire. It has very little of the Water element, though. This implies that the company is full of ideas and is decent at manifesting those ideas, but it can get stuck in the creative process without enough water to make things flow.
I noticed right away the critical cardinal degrees on the angles, with Venus, the North Node & Pluto on the Midheaven at the top of the chart, and Uranus & Jupiter on the Ascendant. Cardinal energy is initiating energy and planets on angles are considered very powerful. Venus and Jupiter are what traditional astrologers call “The Benefics”. It is considered beneficial to have these planets on the angles of a chart. Venus can symbolize the financial outlook of a company and Jupiter can symbolize growth and expansion. The meteoric growth of the company is well documented. At their height, they had $100m annual recurring revenue.
Venus is about aesthetics as well, so it’s not surprising that a design company would have Venus in such a prominent place as the Midheaven. However, this Venus is not very strong, as it’s conjunct the North Node, which is in the sign of its fall. This is a sign where Venus is not as easily expressed. Jupiter is also in a square aspect to Venus, or in a place of tension, which can lead to excess. Jupiter being in the sign of Venus’ detriment also indicates that this excessive growth could be problematic. The company’s funding rounds ballooned from $1.5M in its debut year to $45M in 2015, to a whopping $100M in 2017. But it didn’t stop there. It raised another $115M the following year. Uranus, the planet of disruption and change, conjuncts Jupiter and squares Venus. These aspects show both the disruption and growth that Invision’s technology brought to the market, as well as just how quickly that growth was obliterated by the pace of technological change.
As previously mentioned, Pluto is conjunct with the North Node at the top of the chart. Pluto is a slow-moving planet and its impact is one of deep transformation. Pluto in Capricorn on the North Node is a powerhouse and with Venus there it is no surprise the company has gone through such a drastic transformation, from the meteoric heights of a $2b valuation to closing its doors in only a few short years.
It is also interesting to note the timing as we are approaching another Jupiter & Uranus conjunction, this time in Taurus (ruled by Venus). This transiting aspect falls in the company’s natal 2nd house, which is also ruled by Venus. The 2nd house is symbolic of our values and our earned finances. The upcoming conjunction is out of orb from the original conjunction, but it is squaring the company’s natal Neptune, and transiting Neptune is conjunct with the company’s natal Uranus and Ascendent. Neptune in the 12th house is symbolic of the company’s glamorous appeal as it spent a great deal of money on marketing. Think Hollywood star.
The news surrounding the company’s shutdown already shattered any projections of glamor the company had left, although from previous posts many in the industry saw this coming. This year’s Jupiter & Uranus conjunction is timed right after the next solar eclipse in April, which will happen in the company’s natal 1st house, along with Venus forming a conjunction with the company’s natal Jupiter. The company announced that it would fully shut down by the end of 2024, but I wonder if this will be a key turning point in that process.
The site itself was launched during the darkest period before the new moon and Mars was at the same degree as the Sun (considered Cazimi, “in the heart” of the sun, and at its most potent which can also be considered its most destructive). The new moon with Mars in the 11th house can symbolize both the ambition of the company and highlight the key focus of the technology, which was about cross-division collaboration. The Mars Cazimi reminds me of the story of Icarus, who at the height of his glory was destroyed as he flew too close to the sun.
The ruler of the company’s North Node is Saturn in Libra in the 7th house. Saturn is in its exaltation in Libra and even though retrograde it is very powerful in the house of relationships. Saturn is ruled by Venus. This is what astrologers call a repeat signature. It demonstrates the strength of its multiple connections with Venture Capital even if those investments didn’t pay off. Saturn is what keeps us in line and is often referred to as our karma coming to meet us. It’s the direct result of our past actions. Transiting South Node is applying to a conjunction of Saturn and will perfect on January 28th, meaning it will exactly align. The South Node is also symbolic of the past and it’s no coincidence that this cycle is playing out at this moment.
It would be interesting to look at past transits and what the chart might have revealed with the timing of important events such as the launch of Invision’s competitor Figma. It is, of course, much easier to understand the chart themes based on past events. Astrology is archetypal, not magic. It has been relied upon for centuries and because it has been used to track mundane and personal events over long periods, it can serve as a very powerful archetypal study of cycles.
Tracking Themes, Symbols… and Opportunities
Astrology can be used to time specific events but the themes the archetypal symbols represent can play out in multiple ways. It is by tracking these symbols over time that you can understand how the symbolism may play out more specifically for a person or entity. My clients have found it helpful to understand the themes that may show up ahead of time so they can at least prepare themselves for channeling the energy productively. We have little control over external events, but we can learn how to respond more constructively. Even so, life has a way of surprising even the most conscious. Life is a journey and the opportunity for growth is always present.
Could having an astrological advisor on the company’s board save it from its ultimate demise? I’m not sure, but it might have been able to push it in the right direction earlier, saving it from burning up so much cash. Can I imagine an astrologer on any board today? I honestly can’t, but I can imagine a certain open-minded executive being advised behind the scenes. It should at least be considered. It’s quite a powerful tool in understanding the cycles of our time.
If you are an astrologer and you see something I didn’t, please chime in. I’d very much love to hear your thoughts.
