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Or what about something more brick and mortar, a physical product or a service that must be carried out in person? I am becoming increasingly critical of the im

by quizbiz 17y ago

Or what about something more brick and mortar, a physical product or a service that must be carried out in person? I am becoming increasingly critical of the immense value we put on things that exist strictly on the web.

mediaman 17y ago
I agree. I started a company that has nothing to do with the web at all. After a few years, it has done quite well. It seems that many believe here that the only form of entrepreneurship worth pursuing is web-based apps, or, failing that, a technology-oriented company. But many startups do quite well by innovating with business processes, targeting inefficient industries, or offering more traditional but innovative products to underserved consumers or businesses. For example, furniture seller Design Within Reach beat the pants off their VC funded online competitors in the late 90s, using the massive innovation of a paper catalogue. This worked because the furniture industry had extremely poor customer service, and they figured out how to fix that by being an excellent reseller; they knew that "being online" was not a magic pill.
- jpwagner 17y ago
  citation needed...four steps to the epiphany page 17
  - mediaman 17y ago
    Good catch, I'd forgotten where I'd read that story.
- webwright 17y ago
  "It seems that many believe here that the only form of entrepreneurship worth pursuing is web-based apps, or, failing that, a technology-oriented company." There are huge margins, opportunities for disruption, potential for capital efficiency, and huge scaling advantages for software/tech businesses (which is why they are popular with VCs and entrepreneurs alike. But there are obviously plenty of examples of offline business that prosper (or even grow like gangbusters). (Design within Reach is an awesome example, by the way)
qaexl 17y ago
I'm not doing a startup so much as building real estate investing business right now. I am running through the "4 Steps to Epiphany" and Ferris's processes right now. I'm trying to bring in innovations from current day techs (blog, web, etc.) however, I'm finding a number of the customers don't have ready access to the web.

by quizbiz 17y ago

mediaman 17y ago

I agree. I started a company that has nothing to do with the web at all. After a few years, it has done quite well. It seems that many believe here that the only form of entrepreneurship worth pursuing is web-based apps, or, failing that, a technology-oriented company. But many startups do quite well by innovating with business processes, targeting inefficient industries, or offering more traditional but innovative products to underserved consumers or businesses. For example, furniture seller Design Within Reach beat the pants off their VC funded online competitors in the late 90s, using the massive innovation of a paper catalogue. This worked because the furniture industry had extremely poor customer service, and they figured out how to fix that by being an excellent reseller; they knew that "being online" was not a magic pill.

jpwagner 17y ago
citation needed...four steps to the epiphany page 17
- mediaman 17y ago
  Good catch, I'd forgotten where I'd read that story.
webwright 17y ago
"It seems that many believe here that the only form of entrepreneurship worth pursuing is web-based apps, or, failing that, a technology-oriented company." There are huge margins, opportunities for disruption, potential for capital efficiency, and huge scaling advantages for software/tech businesses (which is why they are popular with VCs and entrepreneurs alike. But there are obviously plenty of examples of offline business that prosper (or even grow like gangbusters). (Design within Reach is an awesome example, by the way)

qaexl 17y ago

I'm not doing a startup so much as building real estate investing business right now. I am running through the "4 Steps to Epiphany" and Ferris's processes right now. I'm trying to bring in innovations from current day techs (blog, web, etc.) however, I'm finding a number of the customers don't have ready access to the web.