Idioms, Fallacies, and Paradoxes

Icarus Paradox

Some businesses bring about their own downfall through their own successes.

The Icarus paradox is a neologism referring to the phenomenon of businesses failing abruptly after a period of apparent success, where this failure is brought about by the very elements that led to their initial success.

It alludes to Icarus of Greek mythology, who drowned after flying too close to the sun. The failure of the very wings that allowed him to escape imprisonment and soar through the skies was what ultimately led to his demise, hence the paradox.