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My first reaction: maybe investors just don't want to fund an overpriced piece of hardware that provides dubious value compared to existing solutions. My secon

by s17n 9y ago

My first reaction: maybe investors just don't want to fund an overpriced piece of hardware that provides dubious value compared to existing solutions. My second reaction: well they gave $120M to Juicero.

SerLava 9y ago
Perhaps they missed the mark with VCs by not calling it "Juiceyourmom".
- dang 9y ago
  Please don't do this here.
  - SerLava 9y ago
    apologies.
dv_dt 9y ago
Well that would be part of serious diligence in looking to invest. Is the price high because of low-volume? If the product is shipping in low volume and what the business needs is an injection of money to do a risk commitment for higher volume in manufacturing in combination with marketing to get it out to an audience - that would seem like it could be within the realm of VC funding.
petra 9y ago
My first reaction: this story appears so very close to their kickstarter, and it fits well with their target market.
- s17n 9y ago
  Hey man just cause its PR don't make it not true
  - horsecaptin 9y ago
    PR sure does magnify the truth though don't it? ;)
lallysingh 9y ago
Pumping is painful, and women who pump are often working moms, so they'll have money. Getting rid of daily physical pain is worth a lot of money. I'm flabbergasted why this isn't a "shut up and take my money" situation.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  Maybe market size? There are ~4 million births per year in the US. What percentage of women buy a pump?
  - sidlls 9y ago
    The market is not just women. Hospitals purchase hospital grade pumps for rental. And the percentage of women who purchase pumps might increase with more and better options and affordability through insurance, etc.
    - maxerickson 9y ago
      The demand is still limited by the number of births. Rentals just make them more available. Anyway, my question isn't meant to be dismissive, the rough percentage of recent mothers that choose to use a pump is important information in trying to figure out the potential market size.
- alexanderstears 9y ago
  Market sizing issue The average fertility rate is low in the developed world. You're not selling many of these in the developing world. Even in the United States, the government picks up the tab for ~50% of all child deliveries (those parents probably can't afford a smart pump, and if they can, I wonder why they're not paying for their child's delivery) How many high income families chose to have a mom stay at home? It seems like a fair amount, anecdotally, ~30% of my colleagues don't come back from maternity leave. And how much better is this than existing pumps? At least Juicero was categorically different than other at-home juicers, it had some interesting technology for tracking food supply chains, and offered a recurring revenue model - it can justify a high customer acquisition cost if it can get lucrative customers. This doesn't seem to have a reoccurring, indefinite revenue stream. Even if you can make money off each use, eventually the kid is going to get weaned.
probably_wrong 9y ago
You mean they don't want to fund it _again_ - after all, they gave 6.5M in 2013. When you factor hardware, 2x to 4x more expensive than its direct competitor, and a small market, it seems to me a risky investment. Maybe VCS did learn from Juicero.
sidlls 9y ago
Even the hospital grade Medela pump (more than the $999 quoted) is an onerous chore to use. My wife and I would gladly have paid it. It's out of reach of most mothers, but so are most quality maternity products, and that's due more to our crappy health care system that penalizes women for being women.
hkmurakami 9y ago
Juicero iirc was pitched based on a recurring revenue model for the packets. Printer and ink cartridge or razor handle and blade kind of business models, which should have very different financial prospects (if executed and marketed correctly) than a buy once and done gadget, no matter how useful the gadget may be.

by s17n 9y ago

SerLava 9y ago

Perhaps they missed the mark with VCs by not calling it "Juiceyourmom".

dang 9y ago
Please don't do this here.
- SerLava 9y ago
  apologies.

dv_dt 9y ago

Well that would be part of serious diligence in looking to invest. Is the price high because of low-volume? If the product is shipping in low volume and what the business needs is an injection of money to do a risk commitment for higher volume in manufacturing in combination with marketing to get it out to an audience - that would seem like it could be within the realm of VC funding.

petra 9y ago

My first reaction: this story appears so very close to their kickstarter, and it fits well with their target market.

s17n 9y ago
Hey man just cause its PR don't make it not true
- horsecaptin 9y ago
  PR sure does magnify the truth though don't it? ;)

lallysingh 9y ago

Pumping is painful, and women who pump are often working moms, so they'll have money. Getting rid of daily physical pain is worth a lot of money. I'm flabbergasted why this isn't a "shut up and take my money" situation.

maxerickson 9y ago
Maybe market size? There are ~4 million births per year in the US. What percentage of women buy a pump?
- sidlls 9y ago
  The market is not just women. Hospitals purchase hospital grade pumps for rental. And the percentage of women who purchase pumps might increase with more and better options and affordability through insurance, etc.
  - maxerickson 9y ago
    The demand is still limited by the number of births. Rentals just make them more available. Anyway, my question isn't meant to be dismissive, the rough percentage of recent mothers that choose to use a pump is important information in trying to figure out the potential market size.
alexanderstears 9y ago
Market sizing issue The average fertility rate is low in the developed world. You're not selling many of these in the developing world. Even in the United States, the government picks up the tab for ~50% of all child deliveries (those parents probably can't afford a smart pump, and if they can, I wonder why they're not paying for their child's delivery) How many high income families chose to have a mom stay at home? It seems like a fair amount, anecdotally, ~30% of my colleagues don't come back from maternity leave. And how much better is this than existing pumps? At least Juicero was categorically different than other at-home juicers, it had some interesting technology for tracking food supply chains, and offered a recurring revenue model - it can justify a high customer acquisition cost if it can get lucrative customers. This doesn't seem to have a reoccurring, indefinite revenue stream. Even if you can make money off each use, eventually the kid is going to get weaned.

probably_wrong 9y ago

You mean they don't want to fund it _again_ - after all, they gave 6.5M in 2013. When you factor hardware, 2x to 4x more expensive than its direct competitor, and a small market, it seems to me a risky investment. Maybe VCS did learn from Juicero.

sidlls 9y ago

Even the hospital grade Medela pump (more than the $999 quoted) is an onerous chore to use. My wife and I would gladly have paid it. It's out of reach of most mothers, but so are most quality maternity products, and that's due more to our crappy health care system that penalizes women for being women.

hkmurakami 9y ago

Juicero iirc was pitched based on a recurring revenue model for the packets. Printer and ink cartridge or razor handle and blade kind of business models, which should have very different financial prospects (if executed and marketed correctly) than a buy once and done gadget, no matter how useful the gadget may be.