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> I've got a great idea: Crappucino - A frappucion with > extra sugar on top. Where are my millions? No, I'M sorry but I don't quite think YOU know what a "gr

by NSX2 19y ago

> I've got a great idea: Crappucino - A frappucion with > extra sugar on top. Where are my millions? No, I'M sorry but I don't quite think YOU know what a "great idea" is about. Frappacino was a great idea where it took off in California because it's hot there and people liked the combo of cold and caffeine buzz. Nobody (as) yet invented a portable high-power expresso maker/ice blender that can chop ice to smithereens in 7-8 seconds or so. So you need Starbucks. Extra sugar on top is pointless because I can go to the condiment counter and just pour more sugar on top for free. So you're idea by definition is not "good" because (a) it offers no value to the customer that they can't get by themselves without you and (b) you haven't figured out how you make money off of it (part of the definition of a good idea to begin with). So in conclusion, you don't have a good idea - you have fluff you can't figure out how to make money off of. That makes you qualified for raising venture capital or applying to ... um ... this place I've heard of where there are a lot of ideas that never wind up making much money as stand alone businesses. But that' doesn't mean you have a good idea. So you have no milliions. Viola. Equation stands. On top of which, I've never downgraded execution. My experience is that it takes a continual mix of both, plus lots of luck and timing, 2 things you can't control. It's usually "execution" people dismissing the value of good (by which I mean you can make money off of) ideas, almost like some obsessive-compulsive insecurity or something. And now there's this post, and when I ask the simple question: what does a person who gives you a good idea get in return, nothing but crickets. So if execution is the be-all end-all, have fun executing hot air people might use but never pay for. See how far that gets you in this new global economic reality we'll be experiencing for the next 3-5 years. Go on. Go execute ideas you can't figure out how to make money off of. Keep me updated.

mixmax 19y ago
So why didn't Coffee Connection in Boston make millions selling frappucino? They are the ones that hold the trademark.
- NSX2 19y ago
  Actually, this illustrates my point perfectly. By a lot of accounts, Coffee Connection came out with a similar, but much better tasting ("better executed" as you put it) drink. But though their execution was better, they got bought out by Starbucks. Why? Boston is cold as hell in winter and not too hot the rest of the time. Nobody wants iced drinks when it's cold. Plus Boston is a small city. California, on the other hand, is a huge state full of teenagers with lots of disposable income and most of it is hot most of the year. So: introduce an iced drink in 1 city in a cold place = not so great idea, not that much money. Introduce an iced drink in the biggest state in the country where it's almost always hot in most of the state = great idea, lots of money. So the one with the better idea and the better idea of how to implement the idea (Starbucks) made a lot more money and bought out the business who executed better but executed better on what turned out to be a crappy idea. Starbucks had what customers claim is inferior execution compared to Coffee Connection's version, but their idea was better and their ideas of what/how/where to execute was better. So in the end mediocre execution of better idea = billions in revenue. Superior execution of a mediocre idea = get bought out by above and cease to exist. It's true an architect can't build without builders. But unless the builders have a good plan, no matter how well they execute, they're just wasting time/energy/resources. Telling someone who's taken the time to come up with good plans/scenarios/alternatives that once the plan is done they add no value is just as much a slap in the face as an "MBA-business guy" telling programmers that the second they finish writing the code for an application, they're useless and add no further value unless a change needs to be made. And you can execute perfectly but these days you need so much insight and perspective to be able to detect changes in current and prepare alternate courses of action while managing remaining resources ...
  - edu 19y ago
    By a lot of accounts, Coffee Connection came out with a similar, but much better tasting ("better executed" as you put it) drink. Sorry but no. In this context better executed does not mean better tasting. It means marketed in a more appropriate way. If you re-read you own comment you will see why Starbucks get a better execution than Coffee Connection :)
    - 19y ago

by NSX2 19y ago

mixmax 19y ago

So why didn't Coffee Connection in Boston make millions selling frappucino? They are the ones that hold the trademark.

NSX2 19y ago
Actually, this illustrates my point perfectly. By a lot of accounts, Coffee Connection came out with a similar, but much better tasting ("better executed" as you put it) drink. But though their execution was better, they got bought out by Starbucks. Why? Boston is cold as hell in winter and not too hot the rest of the time. Nobody wants iced drinks when it's cold. Plus Boston is a small city. California, on the other hand, is a huge state full of teenagers with lots of disposable income and most of it is hot most of the year. So: introduce an iced drink in 1 city in a cold place = not so great idea, not that much money. Introduce an iced drink in the biggest state in the country where it's almost always hot in most of the state = great idea, lots of money. So the one with the better idea and the better idea of how to implement the idea (Starbucks) made a lot more money and bought out the business who executed better but executed better on what turned out to be a crappy idea. Starbucks had what customers claim is inferior execution compared to Coffee Connection's version, but their idea was better and their ideas of what/how/where to execute was better. So in the end mediocre execution of better idea = billions in revenue. Superior execution of a mediocre idea = get bought out by above and cease to exist. It's true an architect can't build without builders. But unless the builders have a good plan, no matter how well they execute, they're just wasting time/energy/resources. Telling someone who's taken the time to come up with good plans/scenarios/alternatives that once the plan is done they add no value is just as much a slap in the face as an "MBA-business guy" telling programmers that the second they finish writing the code for an application, they're useless and add no further value unless a change needs to be made. And you can execute perfectly but these days you need so much insight and perspective to be able to detect changes in current and prepare alternate courses of action while managing remaining resources ...
- edu 19y ago
  By a lot of accounts, Coffee Connection came out with a similar, but much better tasting ("better executed" as you put it) drink. Sorry but no. In this context better executed does not mean better tasting. It means marketed in a more appropriate way. If you re-read you own comment you will see why Starbucks get a better execution than Coffee Connection :)
  - 19y ago