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When I was at RIT in '02-'03 there were two companies doing this. Both of them shut down a couple of months after launching. After I graduated and moved back to

When I was at RIT in '02-'03 there were two companies doing this. Both of them shut down a couple of months after launching. After I graduated and moved back to Connecticut I found two services in the area that did this. They too both eventually shut down. This model seems to have a problem making enough to pay drivers.

hayksaakian 13y ago
Don't worry there's plenty of VC to keep this thing going. And on the off chance they make it work, everybody wins. You don't really lose anything for other peoples failures (unless you're investing money you're not willing to lose)
- tanzam75 13y ago
  > You don't really lose anything for other peoples failures (unless you're investing money you're not willing to lose) A number of pension funds are invested in venture capital. Thus, a lot of people are unknowingly losing money on these types of things. Granted, they're only losing pennies each time. But it adds up.
  - mattmanser 13y ago
    That's not how it works, VCs are like record publishers, doesn't matter if most of your companies suck as long as one is a hit. You can't pick only hit companies. Well, if you could I'd sure pg would want a word!
    - tanzam75 13y ago
      > That's not how it works, VCs are like record publishers, doesn't matter if most of your companies suck as long as one is a hit. I know how venture capital is supposed to work. The problem is that it hasn't been working out the way it's supposed to. Over the past decade, venture capital has underperformed the stock market. Thus, pension funds have gotten their money into illiquid and risky VC investments -- but they haven't been getting paid the liquidity and risk premiums that they thought they were going to get. (Incidentally, the record labels haven't done that great over the past decade, either.)
      - mattmanser 13y ago
        If you supposedly know how it works why are you blathering on about pennies here and there? As the post I replied to shows a glaring lack of knowledge. Plenty of VC funds are working exactly how they're supposed to work, don't try and wriggle out of it by claiming that 'of course you know' but somehow dropping a few million here and there on grocery suppliers is a meaningful loss to a VC or pension fund. I'd have far more respect if you just said 'yeah, whoops, didn't know what the fuck I was talking about'.
        tanzam75 13y ago
        A million here, a million there, pretty soon you're talking about real money. As for your personal attacks upon me, I think it evident that you just want to pick a fight. Four sentences in your post, and all four contain more insult than content. As for "Plenty of VC funds are working ...", I would simply repeat what I've already stated, and you've ignored -- that the industry as a whole isn't delivering the promised returns. Good luck trying to pick the VC funds that are working, rather than the ones that aren't.
SkyMarshal 13y ago
There were also two big ones in NYC right before the 2000/2001 .com crash, neither lasted, but everyone loved them. Kozmo.com and one other I can't remember. I do still remember the gourmet steak & lobster dinner they could deliver anywhere in an hour.

hayksaakian 13y ago

Don't worry there's plenty of VC to keep this thing going. And on the off chance they make it work, everybody wins. You don't really lose anything for other peoples failures (unless you're investing money you're not willing to lose)

tanzam75 13y ago
> You don't really lose anything for other peoples failures (unless you're investing money you're not willing to lose) A number of pension funds are invested in venture capital. Thus, a lot of people are unknowingly losing money on these types of things. Granted, they're only losing pennies each time. But it adds up.
- mattmanser 13y ago
  That's not how it works, VCs are like record publishers, doesn't matter if most of your companies suck as long as one is a hit. You can't pick only hit companies. Well, if you could I'd sure pg would want a word!
  - tanzam75 13y ago
    > That's not how it works, VCs are like record publishers, doesn't matter if most of your companies suck as long as one is a hit. I know how venture capital is supposed to work. The problem is that it hasn't been working out the way it's supposed to. Over the past decade, venture capital has underperformed the stock market. Thus, pension funds have gotten their money into illiquid and risky VC investments -- but they haven't been getting paid the liquidity and risk premiums that they thought they were going to get. (Incidentally, the record labels haven't done that great over the past decade, either.)
    - mattmanser 13y ago
      If you supposedly know how it works why are you blathering on about pennies here and there? As the post I replied to shows a glaring lack of knowledge. Plenty of VC funds are working exactly how they're supposed to work, don't try and wriggle out of it by claiming that 'of course you know' but somehow dropping a few million here and there on grocery suppliers is a meaningful loss to a VC or pension fund. I'd have far more respect if you just said 'yeah, whoops, didn't know what the fuck I was talking about'.
      - tanzam75 13y ago
        A million here, a million there, pretty soon you're talking about real money. As for your personal attacks upon me, I think it evident that you just want to pick a fight. Four sentences in your post, and all four contain more insult than content. As for "Plenty of VC funds are working ...", I would simply repeat what I've already stated, and you've ignored -- that the industry as a whole isn't delivering the promised returns. Good luck trying to pick the VC funds that are working, rather than the ones that aren't.

SkyMarshal 13y ago

There were also two big ones in NYC right before the 2000/2001 .com crash, neither lasted, but everyone loved them. Kozmo.com and one other I can't remember. I do still remember the gourmet steak & lobster dinner they could deliver anywhere in an hour.