3 ms·

Same. I almost want to launch a competing service now.

quickthrower2 7y ago
This isn't new. There are competitors in this space. Years ago I was using one called Hey You. I'm not sure about the USA though, maybe it doesn't exist there, or not at a national level.
- rainyMammoth 7y ago
  I guess the issue is that to make such an app work you need to have a large network effect. If there aren't enough coffee shops on it I will never think about opening the app.
  - timgriffin77 7y ago
    Spot on - adding new shops is our primary focus right now, if you have a shop you go to a lot, telling them about Cloosiv would help a ton.
  - quickthrower2 7y ago
    Yes. Well maybe. Here is a brain dump: I used a popular app in Sydney. Sydney loves it's coffee and coffee shops and people don't mind shelling out $5 for coffee, queuing for it but the coffee has to be good. A lot of people will go to the same coffee shop every day, near where they work, or perhaps on one of the train stations on their way. So if just that coffee shop has the app supported it that might be all they need. A single coffee shop could have it's own app and be all good, in theory. Although people often need marketing and re-marketing to remember about the app. So seeing an ad for Cloosiv on the train, then seeing the sign at their local will help them adopt it. A free first coffee helps as well! To use the app, you have to know what coffee shop you are going to in advance - so there is an element of habit by the users. If you are in a strange area and don't know where to get a coffee you'd probably walk in, by which time you probably are better of queuing although maybe the app is still faster. Unless you are using the app for discovery. If I am in a dense area I can find a coffee shop easily. But if all the coffee shops are listed and I am in a area with few shops it could be a useful way to find my nearest. But you'd need a lot of saturation for that - a bit like Uber has nowadays but not at the beginning. Another aspect is the move towards bringing your own cup. This is awesome for the environment, assuming people aren't throwing away the permanent cups! Usually there is a small discount for BYO cup. Hopefully it should cater for that, but to do so would require them waiting for you to appear before making your coffee - negating the speed benefit but there are other benefits such as loyalty points, not needing your wallet and so on.
- pedalpete 7y ago
  There are a bunch of them in Australia, where Hey You is based. I forget what most of the others are called.
  - quickthrower2 7y ago
    It'll be interesting to see if the SV winner-takes-all in this niche comes and swallows them up.

This isn't new. There are competitors in this space. Years ago I was using one called Hey You. I'm not sure about the USA though, maybe it doesn't exist there, or not at a national level.

rainyMammoth 7y ago
I guess the issue is that to make such an app work you need to have a large network effect. If there aren't enough coffee shops on it I will never think about opening the app.
- timgriffin77 7y ago
  Spot on - adding new shops is our primary focus right now, if you have a shop you go to a lot, telling them about Cloosiv would help a ton.
- quickthrower2 7y ago
  Yes. Well maybe. Here is a brain dump: I used a popular app in Sydney. Sydney loves it's coffee and coffee shops and people don't mind shelling out $5 for coffee, queuing for it but the coffee has to be good. A lot of people will go to the same coffee shop every day, near where they work, or perhaps on one of the train stations on their way. So if just that coffee shop has the app supported it that might be all they need. A single coffee shop could have it's own app and be all good, in theory. Although people often need marketing and re-marketing to remember about the app. So seeing an ad for Cloosiv on the train, then seeing the sign at their local will help them adopt it. A free first coffee helps as well! To use the app, you have to know what coffee shop you are going to in advance - so there is an element of habit by the users. If you are in a strange area and don't know where to get a coffee you'd probably walk in, by which time you probably are better of queuing although maybe the app is still faster. Unless you are using the app for discovery. If I am in a dense area I can find a coffee shop easily. But if all the coffee shops are listed and I am in a area with few shops it could be a useful way to find my nearest. But you'd need a lot of saturation for that - a bit like Uber has nowadays but not at the beginning. Another aspect is the move towards bringing your own cup. This is awesome for the environment, assuming people aren't throwing away the permanent cups! Usually there is a small discount for BYO cup. Hopefully it should cater for that, but to do so would require them waiting for you to appear before making your coffee - negating the speed benefit but there are other benefits such as loyalty points, not needing your wallet and so on.
pedalpete 7y ago
There are a bunch of them in Australia, where Hey You is based. I forget what most of the others are called.
- quickthrower2 7y ago
  It'll be interesting to see if the SV winner-takes-all in this niche comes and swallows them up.