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The Unexotic Underclass

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Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#121

Post by ForHackernews »

bokonist wrote: post #2

Here is the basic problem. When you build a product for savvy people, your interests are aligned. Savvy people will only pay you money when you build a good product. Thus, the only way you can make money is by actually doing good, by creating a product useful to other people. This is the happy coincidence that draws so many to entrepreneurship - we get to build things, create value, and get paid $$$. When you build a…

I don't think your first paragraph is true. Plenty of companies targeting savvy (read: up-market) consumers still use "dark patterns" to try and trick them or rip them off: Free trials that bill you unless you cancel, opt-out special fees, shady marketing that borders on spam.

Honestly, when I think of the things I regularly spend money on, there are precious few where I feel "This is a great product that I am happy to support" much more common is the feeling "Well, I really need X, and they're the only ones that make an even halfway acceptable X." or "I guess Y is okay, but it's overpriced for what it does."

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#122

Post by refurb »

onion2k wrote: post #70
declan wrote: post #12

>what with government penniless and gridlocked Um, the U.S. federal government will be spending something like $3.4 trillion in the fiscal year beginning at the end of this month. That's pretty much the exact opposite of truly "penniless." As for gridlocked, sure, it's going to be difficult for the Dems to expand Obamacare, and it's going to be difficult for the GOP to repeal Obamacare, so by that crabbed version of…

Imagine I give you $20. Then I tell you that you have to spend all of that $20 on x, y, and z. Are you penniless? Yes. You have no money. All of the government's $3.4 trillion is budgeted for, allocated and spent. What makes the government penniless is the fact that they can't do anything else because they have no budget for it.

But the gov't creates the budget. They choose what to spend that $20 on.

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#123

Post by timt51 »

wolfgke wrote: post #89
tinco wrote: post #76

I would really love to cater to the unexotic underclass, but how? I mean he goes on and on about how much opportunity there is, but I don't see it. I know how to get 500 white liberal suburbanite young males to pay me $10 per month. They have the money and they love to spend it on tech and gadgetry that makes their lives even more comfortable. But single house mothers? Poor Romanians? How would I even get them to pay…

> I imagine them needing to spend money on food, accepted > education, There is so much educational stuff available on the internet and public libraries that I can't see a reason why there is a lot money to spend on. > housing Accepted > and entertainment. May I tell you something: As a graduate student I have so much work to do that I hardly have any time for entertainment. Thus rather little money is spent on it. C…

Entertainment is a necessity. It has always been this way. From the Colosseum of Rome to Shakespearean theatres to television. People need it to relieve stress.

A little money is still money.

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#125

Post by gambiting »

tinco wrote: post #116
gambiting wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't get the money from them, that's the point. You build a system that helps them,and then sell it to the government or any organisation which has the money to pay for it. You get your money, and they get the help they need.

What do the government or organisations which have the money get out of it?

Let's say you create an application which allows unemployed find jobs easier - you go to your local council, say that by deploying this app in all local job centres they can reduce unemployment by 50%. By doing so, they increase their own popularity with people, and every politician likes that.

Obviously this is just a made up example, but I am saying that there is money to be made on helping poor people,it's just not their money, because they don't have any :P

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#126

Post by obvious_throw »

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #72
gohrt wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Budweiser is swill that passes for beer in the USA, because it is cheaper than what most of the world recognizes as beer -- until savvy people made microbrews popular in USA, and they are not in grocery stores.

You're being downvoted because America produces plenty of fine beer domestically, not just microbrews but major brands like Samuel Adams as well.

The Boston Beer Company (maker of Samuel Adams) is still technically a craft/micro brewery, since they produce (intentionally) less than 6 million barrels annually. The entire craft brew industry produces less than 8% of all domestic beer.

Calling Sam Adams a "major brand" is a bit of a stretch.

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#127

Post by ownagefool »

ivv wrote: post #58
dasil003 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, as someone who qualifies as privileged having grown up firmly middle-class and blessed with computers and the interest to learn them since the 80s, I am not incredibly inclined to channel my entrepreneurial spirit into something unfundable to satisfy the moral call of an ex-Goldman MIT graduate on a guilt trip. Put simply, I can not move the needle through self-sacrifice. That doesn't mean I don't have ethics a…

>>"I'm not fool enough to believe I can solve (eg) poor single mothers' problems in this country with an app." I've recently done research specifically on this topic, and here are three of single moms' many problems that probably could be solved with an app: - Training for a job - Reliable (as in timely and as in not about to fall apart) transportation to a job - Childcare so that she can attend a job

Lets be fair, none of these things are solved with an app. An app, however, could facilitate better solutions.

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#128

Post by maxerickson »

rmc wrote: post #98
3pt14159 wrote: post #17

Let's take a look at the real problems facing America and the rest of the developed world: 1. Mismanaged IT in critical infrastructure. 2. Misallocated funds in programs helping the destitute. 3. Cyclical loops of depression-lack of opportunity-lack of skill building. 4. Health disorders on a massive scale, like metabolic disorder, that can be solved with very simple things like diet and exercise. These places are no…

that can be solved with very simple things like diet and exercise. Not everyone can afford to buy low fat organic produce at a boutique farmer's market that's open when they're at work, or requires a car to visit, and charges a fortune in terms of price-per-meal. Not everyone has the time, money or knowledge to make a home cooked vegetable-rich meal.

There is vast opportunity to improve portion sizing.

It won't fix everything, but people that don't realize their fast food soda has 500 excess calories in it will benefit from pretty much any reduction in soda intake. Those calories probably aren't even contributing much towards satiety.

(I'm not claiming every fast food customer is consuming 500 excess calories of soda with each meal, though I'm sure some of them are. The point is that there are very straightforward opportunities that don't involve major lifestyle changes or added expenses.)

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#129

Post by oftenwrong »

gohrt wrote: post #32
Retric wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not that it's easier to make money scamming poor people. It's just easier to make money scamming people period. Rich people and poor people tend to fall for the exact same scams. The Vast majority of VC's are really running get quick scams to separate people / institutions with money from it. And if you dig into it so is much of the banking sector. EX: Morgage backed security's are really AAA. See savings and lo…

Budweiser is swill that passes for beer in the USA, because it is cheaper than what most of the world recognizes as beer -- until savvy people made microbrews popular in USA, and they are not in grocery stores.

>what most of the world recognizes as beer

All over the world you can find people drinking similar lagers. Bubbly, mild flavor, easy to drink. They have mainstream appeal. Quilmes, Singha, Asahi, King Fisher, Labatt, Skol, Tsingtao, etc. There are too many to name. You can find at least one in every country I've been to. I would say Budweiser is one of the better examples of this style.

Re: The Unexotic Underclass

#130

Post by TeMPOraL »

facepalm wrote: post #74
burgers wrote: post #29

I can sum this up so very simply. The way to make the most money is to get as close to money as possible. Hence why finance is such a lucrative career. We are seeing the obvious flaws of capitalism now that capital is no longer tied to low skill labor for manufacturing. Want to make a ton of money 1 year from today and have good credit? Spend your days with an MLS subscription finding under-priced homes to flip in a…

Where I live, many landlords prefer tenants who are on welfare. The state pays their rent, so it's practically guaranteed. So I think single mothers might be a lucrative market. Especially if you can get the foot into the door for some government contract. Another data point: I think Warren Buffet got rich with Coca Cola and chocolate bars? That's basically selling crap to the poor.

> Where I live, many landlords prefer tenants who are on welfare. The state pays their rent, so it's practically guaranteed. So I think single mothers might be a lucrative market.

Doesn't this have a side effect of locking those single mothers into poverty? A place to stay offers stabilization, but that alone doesn't help if trying to find a job means losing benefits and not being able to afford a cheap flat, because suddenly landlords don't like you anymore.

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