You either give up on the whole thing, or rip up the business plan and add more smart people.
The latter's happened at US start-up Goko.
It's existed in various forms (and names) over the past two years, but now with new CEO Kate Connally in place is re-energising for the future.
"We've done a pivot. We've less of a technology, more of a product focus," says the former VP of Nickelodeon's AddictingGames, of the switch from developing an HMTL5 social gaming platform to developing HTML5 social games.
Another roll of the die
Of course, Goko (previously known as Funsockets) isn't the only start-up to have been overly optimistic about HTML5's potential.
It's still committed to the technology, only this time it's using a third-party service (from Ludei), rather than trying to build its own.
And now it's building games, with a particular focus on bringing physical card and board game brands into the digital space.
"The technology is a means to an end," says Connally. "We want to deliver the best product to users."
Another draw
Goko already has a number of live web HTML5 games, most notably Rio Grande's deck-building card game Dominion.
Developed in conjunction with creator Donald X., it will be released for iOS in September as an hybrid HTML5 app, allowing cross-platform play with the now live web version, while also enabling offline sessions.
The web version of Dominion
"The opportunity is compelling," Connally says, of the bigger picture.
"We're looking at the most game-literate population ever and the most rapidly evolving platform for gaming ever.
"I think this provides a massive opportunity to deepen the social and multiplayer features of these type of games, with people playing together no matter what devices their friends have."
In this way, Goko's aim is to take the inherent social core of card and board games and spread it as widely as possible with a cross-platform HTML5 approach.
Building a settlement
Still, given the nascent state of the market, and indeed of Goko as a company, Connally says it won't be rushing things.
"We'll move slowly and deliberately, launching Dominion on iOS in September, followed later by an Android version," she explains.
"Then we'll introduce more content and improve the social experience over time."
Goko is also working with Catan to develop a game based on its Settlers of Catan board game.
"We already have an alpha version but we'll be doing a lot of testing before we look to release in early 2014," Connally says.
The game is designed to push the social aspects of Settler of Catan.
"We're really thinking about how you keep a round of Catan going?" Connally explains.
Should be enough to keep Goko busy for the next couple of months.
