I'm a big proponent of naively trying to do what others tell me is impossible and it's served me perfectly well. That being said, if someone's startup was unsuccessful for a very clear reason that still exists today, the point is to understand that cause and your own plan for overcoming it, or don't start dedicating a bunch of resources only to get to the exact same point and realize it's not something that can be overcome.

It would be like starting a poker website now and completely ignoring what just happened to Full Tilt. Online poker is illegal. Until that changes, probably not a good space to play in.