One hopes there is some dignity to be found in the discovery that, if nothing else, your purpose was to be an example to others. The OLPC thing is a useful les

One hopes there is some dignity to be found in the discovery that, if nothing else, your purpose was to be an example to others. The OLPC thing is a useful lesson in product design though. It wasn't really a product, it was a mandate about what some people thought others should do, and now instead we have netbooks, the android ecosystem, tablets, and everything else. If someone in the world wants a laptop over other immediate needs, they can get one. Juicero I think had the same problem the rest of juicer market had, which it was a niche product for a nexus of people who both had an upper middle disposable income and thought it was a good idea to convert fibre rich foods into insulin spiking sugar water. Jibo's robot without a purpose was existentially pretty accurate, but they discovered nobody wants that kind of uncanny reminder of the absurdity of their existence hanging around. I joke, but a well aimed joke can destroy a brand, and having funny people around to take those shots can be company saving.