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Starbuck's convinced a generation that they = coffee + environment. I'm not entirely sure what that equation means. That Starbucks has convinced a generation t

Starbuck's convinced a generation that they = coffee + environment. I'm not entirely sure what that equation means. That Starbucks has convinced a generation they're...a coffee shop? Even if you don't like their coffee, they are a coffee shop. That Starbucks...cares about the environment? By big corporation standards, you could do worse, I guess? Or do you mean that they present themselves as a good environment to do the "hang out here for a while or work here with a laptop" thing? With provisos about how wildly this can vary from location to location (boy howdy, can it), in general I'd argue they are a good place for that. In the SF Bay Area I have a panoply of cafes that serve better coffee, but the majority of them are louder and/or more crowded and/or more expensive and/or less comfortable and/or subtly-to-openly hostile to "digital nomads." If I have a complaint against WeWork & friends, it's mostly a matter of cost; if I'd been bold enough to try a startup 10–15 years ago, which I probably should have, I wouldn't have dreamed of looking for office space until we had actual revenue (i.e., not VC/seed funding).

sonnyblarney 8y ago
Starbucks is not really a 'coffee shop'. They are an 'experience' - moreover, and have re-defined what 'coffee' is to a generation. The reason it's problematic is because it's fundamentally inauthentic experience, and they don't create the experience that they are actually set out to achieve. Possibly their first handful of shops in Seattle were, but since then, it's been commoditized. What they ostensibly want to crate is a 'mini community centre' a place where people can go, hang out, read, and interact in a hyper-local manner with 'people they know' - like the terraces in France or Italy. But what they've done is not this at all - the experience is utterly corporatized to the point of being banal. None of their products are locally sourced or relevant. They certainly didn't even try with things like Croissants (Starbucks croissants are like rubber, but who cares, so long as people don't know what a Croissant actually tastes like and keep buying them). The music is even 'lowest common denominator'. There's a coffee shop near from me which is in fact the 'real deal': all foods made fresh each morning on-site, local owner who is actively engaged in the community (and a total character), and it's actually a true centre for finding out all the cool goings on in my hood. The music is chosen by the folks working there and it's always charming, nuanced and interesting. Literally with old French guys arguing about some political this or that (it's Quebec). After hanging out in this local spot - visiting a Starbucks for me has about the charming authenticity of a McDonald's. I've realized only recently that I think people have difficulty grasping this because they've lived in a corporatized bubble of culture their entire lives (this is common in North America) and have almost no context with which to compare it. WeWork has pragmatic value (just like I don't mind grabbing a Starbucks when I'm out and about), but it's also designed to create an environment which is the 'romanticized' version of startups, not necessarily real ones. There is a great P Graham article about startups who 'play house' (I'm sorry I tried to find it for you to no avail) i.e. going through the motions. whenever I visit WW I get that feeling 10x. I also feel that the environments are inauthentic ... tiny little beer cups? What's with that? Liability? "Drink beer, but really, don't". Please. A pragmatic concern is the 'arms race' that they kind of create for new startups trying to attract talent, in some ways 'hyper cool office' is becoming normative, and it's just an added, not-so-necessary expense. I like the shared spaces for MeetUps however - this is actually quite valid and authentic.

sonnyblarney 8y ago

Starbucks is not really a 'coffee shop'. They are an 'experience' - moreover, and have re-defined what 'coffee' is to a generation. The reason it's problematic is because it's fundamentally inauthentic experience, and they don't create the experience that they are actually set out to achieve. Possibly their first handful of shops in Seattle were, but since then, it's been commoditized. What they ostensibly want to crate is a 'mini community centre' a place where people can go, hang out, read, and interact in a hyper-local manner with 'people they know' - like the terraces in France or Italy. But what they've done is not this at all - the experience is utterly corporatized to the point of being banal. None of their products are locally sourced or relevant. They certainly didn't even try with things like Croissants (Starbucks croissants are like rubber, but who cares, so long as people don't know what a Croissant actually tastes like and keep buying them). The music is even 'lowest common denominator'. There's a coffee shop near from me which is in fact the 'real deal': all foods made fresh each morning on-site, local owner who is actively engaged in the community (and a total character), and it's actually a true centre for finding out all the cool goings on in my hood. The music is chosen by the folks working there and it's always charming, nuanced and interesting. Literally with old French guys arguing about some political this or that (it's Quebec). After hanging out in this local spot - visiting a Starbucks for me has about the charming authenticity of a McDonald's. I've realized only recently that I think people have difficulty grasping this because they've lived in a corporatized bubble of culture their entire lives (this is common in North America) and have almost no context with which to compare it. WeWork has pragmatic value (just like I don't mind grabbing a Starbucks when I'm out and about), but it's also designed to create an environment which is the 'romanticized' version of startups, not necessarily real ones. There is a great P Graham article about startups who 'play house' (I'm sorry I tried to find it for you to no avail) i.e. going through the motions. whenever I visit WW I get that feeling 10x. I also feel that the environments are inauthentic ... tiny little beer cups? What's with that? Liability? "Drink beer, but really, don't". Please. A pragmatic concern is the 'arms race' that they kind of create for new startups trying to attract talent, in some ways 'hyper cool office' is becoming normative, and it's just an added, not-so-necessary expense. I like the shared spaces for MeetUps however - this is actually quite valid and authentic.