Microsoft Antitrust nightmare that probably set them back 5 years. Google for invading our privacy, they are still fighting big important battles in Europe. Facebook for similar privacy invasion, the whole beacon debacle.
There are a lot of things that they probably did wrong, but not to the extend that the press is picturing it.
Agreed 100% w/ dvt.
Edit: Dropbox, Craigslist, GitHub, PayPal, Instagram, Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter
Anyone feel free to jump in if I'm ignoring any exploitation or shadiness.
Bad examples: Spotify and Snapchat.
Github: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GitHub#Departure_of_Tom_Presto...
Paypal: https://www.google.com/search?q=paypal+scandal&rlz=1C5CHFA_e...
Twitter: https://www.google.com/search?q=twitter+harassment+problem&r...
Square: http://www.businessinsider.com/wsj-square-coo-resigned-after...
So your list has dwindled to just Dropbox and Instagram.
Github: The point I'm arguing against is the idea that startups have to use exploitative and legally questionably business practices to succeed. This Github thing sucks, but it doesn't really have anything to do with business practices, and obviously nobody is arguing that startup leaders have to to be sexist to succeed.
PayPal: That scandal looks like it's related to PayPal Credit, which they acquired a decade after PayPal was founded. Not an example of something startups have to do to succeed.
Twitter: This is somewhat debatable, but it's a reasonable point. Maybe Twitter wouldn't have succeeded if it tried to stamp out harassment early on.
Square: Similar to Github. This sucks, but it's not really relevant to the point I'm trying to make. It is possible and relatively common for a startup to find massive success without relying on exploitation and potentially illegal business practices.