A $1 billion idea...that I know I'm not ready for
jessepollak.me
A $1 billion idea...that I know I'm not ready for
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Re: A $1 billion idea...that I know I'm not ready for
#2Sounds like Milo... But compete on.
Re: A $1 billion idea...that I know I'm not ready for
#3Sounds like Milo... But compete on.
Yeah, I didn't realize they existed. They were bought by Ebay a couple of years ago for $75 million, so I guess the idea was validated. Don't know if Ebay will dedicate enough time/energy to actually make it happen, so I still think there's an opportunity. Although they do have the corporate connections, which would help in gathering stores etc.
Re: A $1 billion idea...that I know I'm not ready for
#4The fact that Instagram was a billion dollar idea proves that the money you earn from your startup doesn't necessarily measure the impact it has.
I know everyone wants to make a ton of money, but the more interesting question, for me, is this:
So now we're connecting people through the internet, what else can we use the internet for to change the world?
Education, Medicine, and Government are the three areas that are heating up right now around this question, but nobody's done it yet. And it's about to happen.
Re: A $1 billion idea...that I know I'm not ready for
#5I agree that this is a huge opportunity and a fantastic idea; I thought of a similar concept a few months back and came to the same conclusions. It's one of the reasons I'm bullish on companies like Square and Groupon; they have the relationships with the mom and pop businesses that could actually turn something like this into reality. Not to say a startup couldn't do it, it would just take that much more effort to get to the level where they are already.
Re: A $1 billion idea...that I know I'm not ready for
#6This is a terrible idea[see edit]. What incentive is there for any store to use this system when they're providing their data in a single easy to query location? Brick and mortar stores have custom because of brand loyalty, a large part of brand loyalty is saying "I shopped around twice and both times x was cheaper, I'll assume x is always cheaper and use them". Now imagine if every time a consumer wanted something they would just type "product" on their PC and get told "product x is cheapest at: y". Boom, brand loyalty is gone, nobody would go to their "favourite" store any more because there would be no favourites.
Yes, big stores like walmart and competitors compete on $0.01 (and openly advertise that they're $0.01 cheaper) but any store that isn't providing grocery type items doesn't, although maybe England is unique and in America it's different? I know that this idea would not work in England.
edit: when I say terrible idea I mean it's deeply flawed and has serious drawbacks for a party involved. The idea would be great if nobody were to lose out; but then if that were the case this would have already happened.
Re: A $1 billion idea...that I know I'm not ready for
#7I don't want to be too harsh but haven't most people had this idea before?
I know I have and I immediately dismissed it because you would have to get the business co-operation of many retailers for it to be any use (and what is in it for them?).
You would have to develop your own software, ok fine. You would have to integrate with all these retailers archaic inventory systems which you probably would not be allowed to touch, so you have to convince the retailers do make the changes...good luck.
The whole article seemed a bit "I have a $100 billion idea, make a moonbase and mine Helium 3, you just have to do X Y Z "
Re: A $1 billion idea...that I know I'm not ready for
#8This is a terrible idea[see edit]. What incentive is there for any store to use this system when they're providing their data in a single easy to query location? Brick and mortar stores have custom because of brand loyalty, a large part of brand loyalty is saying "I shopped around twice and both times x was cheaper, I'll assume x is always cheaper and use them". Now imagine if every time a consumer wanted something t…
But if you can build a critical mass, stores won't have much choice; if they don't submit their data, they'll lose out on lots of customers.
Re: A $1 billion idea...that I know I'm not ready for
#9Sounds like Milo... But compete on.
http://milo.com/retailers/get-started
Pitch on Milo is more "share your inventory" rather than "manage your inventory with incredible easy." Subtle but important difference in the pitch's underlying meaning...
Based on Milo's integration list it sounds like there's lots of inventory software out there already. Not sure how much of it is "great". Suspect a lot of it needs to leverage RFID, handheld scanners, etc.
For anyone moving on this, think about hardware compatibility that's drop-dead-simple for storeroom, warehouse workers, and the guy who's unloading the truck to use. This is one part web app, 99 parts warehouse app from the retailer's point of view.
Re: A $1 billion idea...that I know I'm not ready for
#10This is a terrible idea[see edit]. What incentive is there for any store to use this system when they're providing their data in a single easy to query location? Brick and mortar stores have custom because of brand loyalty, a large part of brand loyalty is saying "I shopped around twice and both times x was cheaper, I'll assume x is always cheaper and use them". Now imagine if every time a consumer wanted something t…
But if you can build a critical mass, stores won't have much choice; if they don't submit their data, they'll lose out on lots of customers.
But they can't create critical mass without access to data from those stores. It's chicken and egg, and it's flawed in more ways than one.