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I can certainly see your point. But yes, I do blame an entrepreneur setting a bad example trying to grow too quick and burning through lots of cash. I inherentl

I can certainly see your point. But yes, I do blame an entrepreneur setting a bad example trying to grow too quick and burning through lots of cash. I inherently do not see this as such a big admirable success story. Further, I strongly object to the sensationalist reporting of such business magazines. Why don't we hear more about the quiet guys slugging it through and building something lasting? Also, I don't fancy yet another beverage product on an already overcrowded consumer market and the tendency of the business owner to believe that he can only succeed by growing big fast. Why doesn't he believe in the strength of his product. If it's good, people will buy. He inherently believes people only will buy it if it's big. And that's wrong with the picture. He has not created any new knowledge on how to make beverages and trained specialized staff accordingly, which would create positive skill feedback loops in the region of his plant. He's buying juice wholesale and outsourcing production to a local plant that makes everything from Coca-Cola to beer. This is just all marketing: take two kinds of juice, mix em, carbonate it and market the crap out of it. Where are the jobs created out of that? And I don't think he has created a viable plan for young people to follow his footsteps: the plan was to go big and he went bust. His only lasting legacy seems to be staff turnover. Further, I suspect flaws in his management style, because it seems like he's putting out fires constantly. Something's not right here. I don't think the world needs more entrepreneurs like him. He's clearly a very financially motivated guy, who doesn't believe in growing a great product organically. We need more great product companies instead! (Ironically, "the switch" does sound like a really neat product: 100% healthy juice) Historically, companies that had product experts (engineers) in management have outperformed MBA run companies many times over. The lesson here is: build a great product and the rest will follow in time. I have the stats to back this claim over a 50 year period (study done at MIT comparing MBA-run companies to engineer-run companies). Yes, I don't want to ever again create a business plan and pitch to VC's based on the growth curve of the Internet. What a f*ing joke. But that's my mistake.

alexitosrv 17y ago
Interesting. Just to know, can you point to the references backing this assertion: "Historically, companies that had product experts (engineers) in management have outperformed MBA run companies many times over."
- christofd 17y ago
  Prof. Harhoff and Prof. Schrader were both previously at Harvard... this study was initially conceived together with MIT (let me check on this again): http://www.inno-tec.bwl.uni-muenchen.de/pubdb/art_in_books/1992-001.html http://www.inno-tec.bwl.uni-muenchen.de/pubdb/art_in_books/1... This was also published in another journal there. I'll post to this later. Bare with me! I'll have to make a call to Germany on Monday morning - I don't have the paper anymore! I thought it would be an openly accessible PDF on their website.
sutro 17y ago
I inherently do not see this as such a big admirable success story. I doubt anyone, least of all the CEO or his wife, would disagree with you. But their failure is instructive, and telling the story of their failure takes courage. sensationalist reporting There was nothing sensationalist about this article. Why doesn't he believe in the strength of his product? If it's good, people will buy. I'm sure he did believe in his product. But to think that you just set a new kind of beverage on a few shelves and then let the product quality take care of all of your sales, marketing, and brand-building for you is incredibly naive. Apple's products get a lot of acclaim, yet Apple still spends a fortune on advertising and on its distribution outlets. He has not created any new knowledge on how to make beverages Whether he has or hasn't is not evident one way or another from the article. growing big fast Economies of scale are present in beverage manufacturing just as they are in online retailing, search engines, and social networking. So all of your objections to his high-growth strategy also apply to Amazon, Google, eBay, Facebook, etc. But this guy is an easier target for you given the outcome. young people He did a great service to young people by replacing all of the crap chemical-laden sodas sold in California schools with his 100% juice alternative. I don't want to ever again create a business plan and pitch to VC's based on the growth curve of the Internet The Internet will remain the best bet for growth in the world economy for generations to come. Choosing not to leverage that will only hurt your future business prospects.
- christofd 17y ago
  Sensationalist Reporting There is something odd about the glossy way business mags display entrepreneurs as heroes and even more when they are tragic. It's part of the same hype culture that I despise. Growth Businesses Google is a technology and product breakthrough - Pagerank, GFS, BigTable, MapReduce, AdWords, Server Design etc. Amazon - Cloud Computing, Recommendation Engine. Facebook - Social Graph. These are deserving growth businesses that have built out a true market niche. I don't see the beverage market in that same category. Knowledge, Young People, Jobs Building a beverage like this is not like hiring and training Master Brewers from Weihenstephan in Bavaria or red wine experts from Bordeaux. Packaging juice bottles is a minimum wage job like any other. I don't see the armies of new employees that will be created in this market segment.

alexitosrv 17y ago

Interesting. Just to know, can you point to the references backing this assertion: "Historically, companies that had product experts (engineers) in management have outperformed MBA run companies many times over."

christofd 17y ago
Prof. Harhoff and Prof. Schrader were both previously at Harvard... this study was initially conceived together with MIT (let me check on this again): http://www.inno-tec.bwl.uni-muenchen.de/pubdb/art_in_books/1992-001.html http://www.inno-tec.bwl.uni-muenchen.de/pubdb/art_in_books/1... This was also published in another journal there. I'll post to this later. Bare with me! I'll have to make a call to Germany on Monday morning - I don't have the paper anymore! I thought it would be an openly accessible PDF on their website.

sutro 17y ago

I inherently do not see this as such a big admirable success story. I doubt anyone, least of all the CEO or his wife, would disagree with you. But their failure is instructive, and telling the story of their failure takes courage. sensationalist reporting There was nothing sensationalist about this article. Why doesn't he believe in the strength of his product? If it's good, people will buy. I'm sure he did believe in his product. But to think that you just set a new kind of beverage on a few shelves and then let the product quality take care of all of your sales, marketing, and brand-building for you is incredibly naive. Apple's products get a lot of acclaim, yet Apple still spends a fortune on advertising and on its distribution outlets. He has not created any new knowledge on how to make beverages Whether he has or hasn't is not evident one way or another from the article. growing big fast Economies of scale are present in beverage manufacturing just as they are in online retailing, search engines, and social networking. So all of your objections to his high-growth strategy also apply to Amazon, Google, eBay, Facebook, etc. But this guy is an easier target for you given the outcome. young people He did a great service to young people by replacing all of the crap chemical-laden sodas sold in California schools with his 100% juice alternative. I don't want to ever again create a business plan and pitch to VC's based on the growth curve of the Internet The Internet will remain the best bet for growth in the world economy for generations to come. Choosing not to leverage that will only hurt your future business prospects.

christofd 17y ago
Sensationalist Reporting There is something odd about the glossy way business mags display entrepreneurs as heroes and even more when they are tragic. It's part of the same hype culture that I despise. Growth Businesses Google is a technology and product breakthrough - Pagerank, GFS, BigTable, MapReduce, AdWords, Server Design etc. Amazon - Cloud Computing, Recommendation Engine. Facebook - Social Graph. These are deserving growth businesses that have built out a true market niche. I don't see the beverage market in that same category. Knowledge, Young People, Jobs Building a beverage like this is not like hiring and training Master Brewers from Weihenstephan in Bavaria or red wine experts from Bordeaux. Packaging juice bottles is a minimum wage job like any other. I don't see the armies of new employees that will be created in this market segment.