
Jawbone is being liquidated as its CEO launches a related health startup - janober
https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/06/jawbone-is-being-liquidated-as-its-ceo-launches-a-related-health-startup
======
stingrae
The days of consumer hardware company's access to startup capital is over.
With so many high profile VC backed (Fitbit, GoPro, Hello, Juicero, Coin,
Pearl, ect.) and kickstarted (Lily.ai, Pebble) failures, no one is willing to
risk it.

~~~
replicatorblog
I'd ascribe the failure to the commodification of the fitness tracker and
increasingly platform-driven smart speaker space. Here are some companies that
have raised big rounds recently:

\+ SimpliSafe raised $57M from Sequoia

\+ Ring raised $100M+ from DFJ

\+ Formlabs raised $50M from Foundry

\+ Sphero raised $23M in April

\+ Anki raised $52.5M in PE

I'm not sure what the future holds for Anki/Sphero, but the first three
examples have what GoPro/FitBit didn't — a clear recurring business model.
This is a good blog post on the subject:

[https://blog.bolt.io/the-3-business-models-that-matter-
for-c...](https://blog.bolt.io/the-3-business-models-that-matter-for-
connected-hardware-startups-32fbf59506e5)

~~~
icelancer
>SimpliSafe

We use SimpliSafe at work. It solves far more problems than the "commodity
hardware" issue. It solves the alarm ecosystem and shitty contracts that
legacy carriers like ADT trap you into. It's definitely a good model going
forward, as you noted.

EDIT: Additionally, it solves a "boring" problem, which not many companies
want to tackle. Yet there's tons and tons of stable recurring revenue in this
space that requires almost no additional innovation. Just stability, no-
bullshit, and good customer service.

~~~
bb611
> stability, no-bullshit, and good customer service

I'm interning at a recently (12 months ago) acquired standout in the
e-commerce provider field, and yesterday I was at a talk where the CTO/co-
founder attributed their now multibillion dollar business to the exact same
thing.

There are plenty of dumb problems that people just want to not worry about.

I will say, the downside is they spent about 7 or 8 years before going public,
and another 4-5 before being acquired (for about 4.5x their IPO price). It
wasn't quick money, because you can't prove stability in a year or two, but it
is a very powerful business model.

------
mikestew
I love my Jambox. What I love even more is the 20W Anker speaker that I just
bought for a fifth of what the Jambox cost. And though physically a bit
larger, the Anker sounds tons better. The Jambox was a fine product for its
day, but the “decent sounding Bluetooth speaker” problem is now solved, and
for not a lot of money.

Headsets? I dunno, are Bluetooth earpieces still a thing?

That leaves us with fitness trackers, and it doesn’t appear to me that the
market for those is all that healthy. (And I’ve heard Jawbone’s quality on
those was lacking.) So it seems to me that though Jawbone was innovative and
had some great products that pushed the state of the art along (I’m thinking
of their headset and speaker), those got commoditized and/or duplicated by
others. Like many, I often have a “if only they’d...” opinion to share. In
Jawbone’s case, I’m a bit stumped as to what they could have done differently.

~~~
rbritton
I vastly prefer the Anker audio quality, but I ran into a situation recently
where the Jambox was the only speaker that would work adequately. I purchased
a Bluetooth transmitter (the model is not relevant -- all devices I tried
behaved the same) that I connected to a streaming audio source (i.e., it can
only send data as fast as the audio input is received). Not one modern
Bluetooth speaker that I tried, Anker included, was able to play the audio
without interruption. Only the Jambox was.

My working theory based on my observations of multiple speakers, most of which
I returned for refund, is that an internal buffer accounts for the varying
perceived connection reliability. The newer speakers were significantly
quicker at beginning playing audio after establishing a Bluetooth connection
(as observed unscientifically by watching the indicator on the transmitter —
all connect using the same audio codec). The Jambox was the slowest by at
least a factor of 4-5x. In my theory, this delay was a direct result of a
larger audio buffer.

In my environment, I believe that 2.4 Ghz interference is a probable culprit.
This is a fairly typical suburban neighborhood with most homes containing a
dual-band Comcast wireless router. As a result, the 2.4 Ghz spectrum is very
crowded, but since I cannot control the channels in use by other people and
the fact that Bluetooth is frequency hopping, I can’t work around it.

~~~
hoschicz
I also experienced big buffers with my JAMBOX. When I try to play something
that requires low latency (like a talk), it is perceivable that there is a
latency between the video and the speaker.

------
iamleppert
"Jawbone Health is at the forefront of revolutionizing primary care for
millions of patients worldwide. Combining more than 20 years of proprietary
wearable technology with clinically relevant signals, Jawbone Health connects
patients and physicians like never before with continuous, data-driven
dialogue."

How exactly is a company that just started from the ashes of a glorified
bluetooth speaker company revolutionizing primary care medicine? It really
bothers me when snake oil tech CEO's spout this kind of rubbish.

~~~
charlieflowers
Right? I found myself wondering what the wearable technology of 20 years ago
really was. A skinny, awkward teen with a 50 pound CRT TV strapped to his
back?

~~~
icebraining
Twenty years ago we already had PDAs and palmtops. The Atari Portfolio is from
'89, and fits in a pocket. That tech was used to create wrist-mounted
computers:
[http://edgarmatias.com/papers/chi96/](http://edgarmatias.com/papers/chi96/)

Most weren't commercially viable, but the tech has been around for a _long_
time.

------
bigato
I just received yesterday a Jawbone UP4 wrist band. I switched it on and it
upgraded its own firwmare via cellphone without asking. Now it just doesn't
work at all unless it is connected to a usb port or charger. I read through
all their support suggestions and tried what was possible to no avail. The
"soft reset" and "secondary reset" suggested just doesn't happen; the band
leds won't respond as described.

Jawbone support is non-existent at this point, and their support web forms
won't even work. So I am returning this to Amazon for a refund. Yeah, I should
have done some proper research before buying this.

Unluckily, this seems to be the only wrist band which have the perfect
combination of functionality and form factor that I wanted. I just wanted this
to work. And it even works as a NFC payment thing! Only amex though. I'm
leaning towards a Fitbit Alta HR now, but I would really prefer it to be
discrete and without a display at all.

~~~
yock
> Yeah, I should have done some proper research before buying this.

I could understand this reaction if you were unsatisfied with a frustrating-
but-functional experience. Don't beat yourself up too hard for buying
something without thoroughly researching _whether or not it actually works_.

------
foobaw
A friend of mine quit this company after working there for 3 months. As a PM,
she mentioned that it was impossible for her to do any meaningful work. Mind
you, this was back in 2014, when they were doing fairly well. She even removed
traces of working there from her LinkedIn. Speaks a lot about the company.

~~~
ohazi
> She even removed traces of working there from her LinkedIn. Speaks a lot
> about the company.

Or it tells you that people don't like explaining short employment stints to
potential employers, probably out of fear that the potential employer will
think they were fired.

~~~
tunetine
You either explain why the startup wasn't a good fit or the three month gap of
employment on the resume. I know which I would chose.

~~~
nkozyra
I don't think anyone would ever bat an eye at a 3 month gap in the resume.

~~~
lobotryas
I don't "bat an eye", but I always ask about any gap longer than a month to
see whether the candidate has an answer and how they explain it. The question
is never about the truth for the gap and more to see how they handle the
situation.

------
dankohn1
Sorry to come off as a fanboy, but I blew through hundreds of dollars on
multiple generations of Jawbone bluetooth headsets that never worked well
enough. By contrast, my AirPods work incredibly well.

~~~
bogomipz
Why did you continue to buy generation after generation of a product that you
felt was sub-par?

~~~
dankohn1
The same friend kept buying the Jawbone and telling me how great they were!
I've now converted him to AirPods as well.

~~~
dx034
But why airpods and not one of the countless other bluetooth headphones? There
are so many alternatives with equal or better sound for a cheaper price. Or is
the design the appealing factor for many people?

~~~
clashmoore
For my, it was my trust in the Apple brand that airpods would work as
advertised and be easy to use.

I now use carry and use them everyday and listen to much more music/spoken
content than I ever did before. Many times I use them over my QC35s.

------
soganess
The writing has been on the wall for a few months now!

They straight up stopped responding too support request, especially if you
mentioned that you had a defective up3 or up4. Not exactly the kind of move a
company that had hopes for the future would make.

~~~
yabatopia
Exactly. Why shoud the health care industry, patients and physicians, trust a
company with such a shitty attitude towards customer support? And why do VC's
keep investing in a team with such a disdain for its customers?

------
abritinthebay
Sad, they _were_ great back in their bluetooth microphone heyday but after I
had to return the Jawbone Up 5 times for just basic manufacturing and quality
defects (and to their credit they were fast each time) within a few weeks of
each replacement... it was clear they were on a terminal decline (this was
about 2 years ago).

You can't produce bad product that consistently and survive.

~~~
yourapostasy
This, more than any other factor, should warn anyone away from the new
company.

To give some perspective, older model Jawbone earphones were so good that when
the quality in the newer models began its terminal decline, a lot of
customers, myself included, were so unbelieving we all kept buying and
returning the new models. You can see it from the Amazon reviews. I finally
accepted they were not coming back from their decline, and started looking for
a new manufacturer. The closest one I could find with the same quality sound
that I had come to love from the old Jawbones were $1K USD sets that were
super bulky, made for the military. If I knew Jawbone would have tanked their
quality so badly, I would have stocked up on more of the older models off of
eBay (which were selling for _more_ than retail at one point).

I'm hoping a pair of AirPods will bring me back to the wireless earphone user
base. If any other Jawbone readers found they experienced the same as I
described and found a great replacement, then please reply here.

------
luisjv
Recruiters, get to work. A bunch of extremely talented people got laid off
today.

------
tokyoSurfer
The problem with fitness trackers and smartwatches is that each and every
brand keeps adding unnecessary features to the stack. They won't listen to
users and keep building devices that have no market. Most of those companies
created a product that was good and needed a good amount of work to make it
better. But it seems that developers and management felt that simple = bad,
and worked their asses off to add useless features.

Probably the closest to what people wanted was Mi Band - a bit too simplistic,
but close enough. And this opinion is shared by many of people I know.

In order to create a successful fitness tracker, create a device with:

-distance tracker

-steps tracker

-waterproof (good enough to swim in swimming pool)

-mobile phone notifications, alarms

-no screen needed or extremely simplistic screen is OK

-battery live of at least 7days

-heart rate monitor (do not need to be constant)

-good software, small size

-make it look simple - let users decide on adding bits to it

-sleep tracker that works and learns

-use phone and app for making most of the calculation to save battery

-the price of $49

This tool would kill the market. As of now, Mi Band is closest, but their
software/app is bad and there are some issues with hardware and customisation.

~~~
theli0nheart
The pricing of $49 is the kicker. No one can make the device you're describing
for that. Garmin devices (like the Forerunner 935) tick off your feature
requirements but are relatively expensive.

~~~
swiley
I'd be willing to bet that I could.

~~~
maneesh
Do it. I'd wager on this.

------
adamstober
Second time today we see reporting on SF tech startup woes (see SoundCloud as
well).

In case it's helpful, [http://www.layoff-aid.com](http://www.layoff-aid.com)
is avaiiable for SF tech talent affected by downsizing in both cases.

What an epidemic.

~~~
perryh2
Hired.com is pretty good too. I'm now happily working at a low-key company
that I would've never heard about thanks to Hired.

~~~
adamstober
Awesome. Haven't used them. Curious to hear how long it took you from signup
to signing, and whether or not you were employed while you were searching.

~~~
perryh2
It took me 14 days from the day my profile went 'live' to the day I signed an
offer being unemployed. Most companies scheduled 2 phone screens with me
before offering me an onsite interview. The first with a recruiter and the
second was usually a technical phone interview. I consistently did 3-4 phone
calls per day during the first week and usually 1 full-day onsite interview
during the second week. If I had to use their jobs platform while employed,
I'd probably quit first or use up vacation time.

------
elmar
It's been a long bumpy road for Jawbone, 20 years is really sad to see it
ending like this.

~~~
BinaryIdiot
Yeah I remember seeing the CEO speak at one of YC's events. They even had
their doors chained up when they ran out of money many years ago. If I'm
remembering correctly they almost sorta died twice prior to today. Resilient
but seems they never could get to sustainable profits.

------
supernintendo
Sad to see. I can't speak on their wearables, but I've owned a Jawbone Big
Jambox for four years and continue to use it to this day. It may not be the
best compared to other bluetooth speakers, but it's a great product
nonetheless.

~~~
tpowell
The big jambox is still one of my favorite tech products I've ever owned. I
think my red one belongs in MoMA. I finally caved and bought a UE Megaboom for
its waterproof abilities, but it still doesn't sound better than my years old
jambox. I think think they would have been a great acquisition for Amazon in
their heyday.

------
Havoc
Not surprised. I'm in the market for a fitness band & the comments & reviews
on the jawbone stuff is a blood bath.

Sounds like they were shipping a lot of broken stuff. Probably not a very
sustainable business model

------
jorgemf
A lot of users had to replace their band like 3 or 4 times in the first
months. Then the band only last for 6 or 8 months. No business can survive
like this.

------
EToS
Im not surprised tbh, I've had 2 defective Jawbone Up's and the first took
approx 12 months for a refund to be issued. Also had a defective jambox
product. I think ultimately the product quality was not there, and they got
found out in the marketplace.

------
luhn
I had no idea Jawbone had a wearables line. I only knew them for their Jambox,
which is a great product, but it's probably a tough sell now that there are
innumerable competitors.

------
erikb
Well, what is it about? "Health startup" is a little broad.

------
w1ntermute
Reminds me of these lines from a Hemingway novel:

“How did you go bankrupt?”

“Two ways, gradually and then suddenly.”

There have been a lot of startups without a real product that have been
propped up by the bubble of easy money over the last 5 years. But sooner or
later, the debtors will come calling.

If you work at a startup, you owe it to yourself to think carefully about
where your company stands - you can be sure that the executives, drunk on
their own Kool-aid, won't see any problems until it's too late.

~~~
sbarre
Jawbone has/had plenty of products. I don't understand the relevance of this
comment

~~~
charlesdm
I guess he meant, a real product making money + a profit.

