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Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

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Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#271

Post by finnh »

zloof wrote: post #263
throwaway729 wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. You definitely need to market this to the backpacking crowd. They'll blow $100's on light, compact gear and then shove beans + grinder + aeropress on top... and then deal with the mess. Or at least, I will :) The subscription model isn't great in this respect. I travel up to a dozen times a year and backpack at least a couple weeks per year (in aggregate). So that's 3x2x12 (3 cups per day of travel for each work…

It definitely does work well for backpacking and based on your amount of usage - sounds like something that could work well. Definitely have run some campaigns with a travel focus. However, the bursty demand you mentioned is what we hear from travelers and backpackers - that makes it a lot harder to serve (it's hard to get in front of you right around when you'll need it). A big part of our mission is serving coffee…

With the 4-6 (+) shelf life you mention elsewhere on-thread, could you setup a seasonal subscription? "Camping time! Send me x ounces every: May [x] June [] July []"

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#272

Post by ryanx435 »

freese wrote: post #177
ryanx435 wrote: post #127

when companies do these types of posts, does that mean that they have already been accepted into the 2017 winter batch of YC companies? or is this just part of the application process?

It means that we've been part of the YC winter 2017 since January 3. The Demo Day was yesterday so it's almost finished actually.

Winter 17 started in the winter of 2016? Confusing.

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#273

Post by bluetonium »

zloof wrote: post #229
username223 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Automatic recurring billing is a "dark pattern" from back before anyone made up that term. The only reason it makes more money than one-time purchase or an honest subscription (where customers have to explicitly pay to resubscribe every month or year) is that people will forget or get frustrated when it's time to cancel. Do you want to run that sort of business? "Fun" fact: I bought a used car, only to discover that…

Co-founder here - I actually want to challenge that...for science. I've gone pretty deep on this. There are definitely sets of products for which people want to 'set it and forget it'. At a basic level - electricity. I'd love to never think about my electricity bill ever. I do not want to explicitly pay for my electricity bill. Automated payment on electricity is amazing! There are also many products in my life that…

I'm just a lowly project manager, but my understanding from the tech wizards around here and those I work with is this:

It is possible, using the advanced technology available today, to make on your website a button which allows a subscribed user to independently cancel a subscription that was made online.

Through this technology, one no longer has to compose a pleading e-mail to customer service. No need to take on faith the co-founder's confusing promise that they want to make it easy for you to cancel while they simultaneously withhold a "cancel" button, with no stated plans to add one.

I mean, look, if you really don't intend to make a serious amount of dough off of people being too forgetful or busy to unsubscribe from a subscription they no longer want... what's the harm?

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#274

Post by BrailleHunting »

jacquesm wrote: post #159
freese wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup. In theory making good instant coffee is a pretty simple idea but I can tell you that if I knew what I know about the process I'm not sure I'd start this business all over again.

> I can tell you that if I knew what I know about the process I'm not sure I'd start this business all over again. And yet, those often make the best businesses. Businesses that do not require extensive domain knowledge are easy to copy, businesses that have no 'moat' (barrier to entry) tend to be overrun by competition initiating a very early race to the bottom in price where the only thing that matters is to hit th…

Hard is good when something can be patented, kept secret, heavily regulated or otherwise defended.

Mr. Wonderful and Mr. Coffee will knock this off in μseconds if there's any traction.

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#275

Post by BrailleHunting »

zloof wrote: post #55
alaskamiller wrote: post #22

I work in the coffee industry and saw Sudden pop up last year so was interested in the technique and hacked it out. Freeze dried coffee is already what Folgers does and sell you. This is the more artisanal version of that since the big brands have big factories that can pump out plenty of instant coffee grounds. So this is a ramped up volume play on existing techniques perfected by the doomsday preppers. Youtube sear…

Happy to answer whatever questions we can disclose! Thanks for starting the thread. It's somewhere in the middle to be honest. We did not invent freeze dried coffee - it's been around for over a century. However, it is quite difficult to make it work at-scale in a way that's profitable/sustainable, and that still tastes good. I have a pretty extensive background in operations, manufacturing, & tech and I had to pull…

Is Sudden a California CFO? Are there food safety and facility standards, licensure, insurance and documentation requirements to setting up a food processing operation?

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/Documents/fdbCFOfaqs.pdf

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#276

Post by username223 »

zloof wrote: post #229
username223 wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Automatic recurring billing is a "dark pattern" from back before anyone made up that term. The only reason it makes more money than one-time purchase or an honest subscription (where customers have to explicitly pay to resubscribe every month or year) is that people will forget or get frustrated when it's time to cancel. Do you want to run that sort of business? "Fun" fact: I bought a used car, only to discover that…

Co-founder here - I actually want to challenge that...for science. I've gone pretty deep on this. There are definitely sets of products for which people want to 'set it and forget it'. At a basic level - electricity. I'd love to never think about my electricity bill ever. I do not want to explicitly pay for my electricity bill. Automated payment on electricity is amazing! There are also many products in my life that…

Thanks for the thorough reply.

I have a very different perspective. I religiously avoid auto-billing. For basic necessities like electricity and gas, I like to know how much I'm paying, and to be able to dispute the charges before I pay in case there's a mistake (this occasionally happens).

For luxuries, the periodic reminder that I'm paying $x for something prompts me to reassess whether they are worth it to me, with a default answer of "no." That may be bad for your business, but it's good for my cost of living. Since I'm not in a position to hire a servant to look after my day-to-day financial interests, good defaults matter.

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#277

Post by iamacynic »

BrailleHunting wrote: post #274
jacquesm wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can tell you that if I knew what I know about the process I'm not sure I'd start this business all over again. And yet, those often make the best businesses. Businesses that do not require extensive domain knowledge are easy to copy, businesses that have no 'moat' (barrier to entry) tend to be overrun by competition initiating a very early race to the bottom in price where the only thing that matters is to hit th…

Hard is good when something can be patented, kept secret, heavily regulated or otherwise defended. Mr. Wonderful and Mr. Coffee will knock this off in μseconds if there's any traction.

> Mr. Wonderful and Mr. Coffee will knock this off in μseconds if there's any traction.

good. excellent. the more ripoffs the better. in what universe is the giants copying the small startup a bad thing? validation, validation, validation.

validation, validation, validation. validation.

val. i. da. tion.

one more time. validation.

i wish i could think like you, i really do. i would probably be much happier with everything in the world and in my life.

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#278

Post by stbtrax »

wasd wrote: post #176
truthexposer wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who is your target? If people want good tasting coffee, like a connoisseur, one would like the option of selecting the type of bean, where it is sourced from, how it's roasted, how it's ground, how it's brewed etc. People even vehemently oppose and stand by brewing methods, which to an ordinary person who doesn't care about coffee, wouldn't care about. And if someone is buying instant coffee anyways, I doubt they car…

I don't know how common it is but I bring an aeropress and hand grinder whenever I travel. It's a ton of work and sucks. I drink pour over everyday (dial in temp, grind, ratio, and draw time for every new coffee), make iced coffee during summer, and subscribe to a coffee service. In theory, this would work better. I have no idea if the addressable market is big enough but I certainly wouldn't mind trying it.

I do this as well, it's so hard to find good lightly-roasted beans in most places outside of big cities. (Even big cities in europe and asia seem to prefer a very dark roast everywhere)

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#280

Post by xuki »

freese wrote: post #99
danielvinson wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is enough of a hassle that I will never make the purchase, despite being interested.

Email me and I'll hook you up with a one time order!

You don't get it, do you? He doesn't want to email anyone just to order coffee.
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