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Who would buy a microcomputer in 1975? In a startup you want to lead the target.
by pg 16y ago
Who would buy a microcomputer in 1975? In a startup you want to lead the target.
- paraschopra 16y agoBut I guess many, many microcomputer startups failed because they were way ahead of the adoption curve. As a startup, don't you want to maximize your chances of survival + potential growth? (As opposed to just potential growth).
- pg 16y agoWhat you want to do is make something that people want so much that they'll use it even early. So e.g. writing a Basic interpreter was the right thing in 1975, because microcomputer users were programmers, and the alternative was programming in machine language. Whereoscope is roughly the equivalent thing for this market. Parents really want to know where their kids are, so even though there may only be a few families that have the right hardware already, there will be enough users to keep Whereoscope afloat till more do.
- fragmede 16y agoLet's not forget the footnote in Apple's success, HP. Woz was working for HP, and HP had to pass on the rights for their cute toy of a computer. If they hadn't, I wouldn't be typing this on an Apple Mac. Arguably, their success was HP's failure to pivot. Whereoscope already has strong competition from the phone companies themselves, who realize this is a big deal. Verizon charges 9.99/month for, AT&T's is also 9.99/month, with the first month free. Sprint throws in 100 text messages with their 9.99/month charge. That said, there is room to be had, especially if they have patentable IP, similar to co-existence of Tivo and Comcast.