I Found the Best Burger Place in America, Then I Killed It

Post by School-Cotton » Sat, Nov 17, 2018, 2:38 AM UTC

kbenson wrote: post #312

blt wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is the In-n-out effect - people who grew up on it see it as a vastly superior version of McDs, Wendy's etc for the same price, and are understandably effusive about this. But visitors expect something profound instead of a well executed fast food style burger.

That's exactly what it is, a very well executed fast food burger. I mean, I'm not going to trade it for a real good local burger joint burger (Superburger in my area), but that joint burger is 2x times the size plus fixings (depending on what's ordered) and costs 3x the In-n-out burger, and doesn't have a drive through. When you start adding all the variables in, the picture becomes clear. Oh, and as someone that get…

Post by School-Cotton » Sat, Nov 17, 2018, 2:44 AM UTC

Aeolun wrote: post #349

blt wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is the In-n-out effect - people who grew up on it see it as a vastly superior version of McDs, Wendy's etc for the same price, and are understandably effusive about this. But visitors expect something profound instead of a well executed fast food style burger.

Why would you ever expect more than a well executed fast food style burger from, well, a burger. That’s literally what burger means as far as I’m concerned.

Post by btown » Sat, Nov 17, 2018, 2:49 AM UTC

navinsylvester wrote: post #345

trynewideas wrote: post #292

It's a "dead dove do not eat" feeling, but I kind of hoped I'd open the HN comments on this one and _not_ see a bunch of engineering solutions. They all miss the point of the story, which is crushingly relevant to startups: If you build a company with people you like and love, and circumstances outside of your control force it to scale in a hurry, those people you like and love are going to get hurt in the process. T…

Bang on. Right chord. I think this article is a great advise to people running startups. The review is akin to raising outside money.

Post by geofft » Sat, Nov 17, 2018, 3:12 AM UTC

Haegin wrote: post #174

geofft wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are some things in a capitalist society that are the domain of philanthropy, and some things that are not. A school or library might be a suitable target of philanthropy, but a burger place or pub or barber shop isn't; there's no way to fund it and have it end up the same sort of place it would be on its own. At best, it can be a target of a GoFundMe or something - but that's just to pay operating costs. The st…

I think daveslash was suggesting the burger joint runs as the for-profit entity that it already is and that it is the source of the philanthropy, not the target. To give an example, charge exorbitant prices for burgers knowing there are still people desperate enough to try the burger that paying $30 is fine and then use the extra revenue to give back to the community, possibly by paying for the local soccer club to g…

Post by chrisweekly » Sat, Nov 17, 2018, 3:17 AM UTC

btown wrote: post #355

navinsylvester wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bang on. Right chord. I think this article is a great advise to people running startups. The review is akin to raising outside money.

Couldn’t agree more. It’s a weird world where we want founders to be artisans and inventors, but the money can only think “scale now or die.” There are other ways to build a sustainable large-scale business, methodically over time with profitability and a reputation of care for one’s customers. But venture capital isn’t aligned with this type of approach.