
Y Combinator Gets Hardcore About Hardware - BobbyVsTheDevil
http://techcrunch.com/2015/08/19/hardware-at-the-speed-of-software/
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arihant
I know a lot of these companies are at the MVP-ish stage, but I'm extremely
excited about Luna and Nebia. I'll probably be willing to buy those two, along
with Pepper [1], and some smart coffee/tea maker by the end of this year.

I would be more interested in Luna if they partnered with some mattress
company or something similar, and if I can buy cover + mattress combo. From
experience, it is an extreme nightmare to get a size match on covers. I'd be
more confident purchasing it knowing that they specifically built it for a
mattress that I can also buy. Maybe they can list supported mattresses or the
ones they tested on?

The interesting thing is all these products (Luna, Nebia, Pepper) are actually
in decently affordable range, especially for cutting edge.

[1] Pepper -
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a4sZnLRvqk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a4sZnLRvqk)

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zhemao
I'll be honest, I don't see these products as all that compelling. They all
seem kind of gimmicky to me. Who exactly is the target market for the
sandwich-making machine or bicycle cafe? Is it for restaurants? If I owned a
deli, for instance, you're going to have a hard time convincing me that your
newfangled robot can make a sandwich faster or better than human employees.

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ForrestN
I assume the pitch wasn't "we're going to make a sandwich-making machine," but
rather "we're going to automate food production and revolutionize the world
economy." If I understand correctly, the intended path of many of these
companies is to use some narrow case as proof-of-concept. Start with helping
conference attendees share air mattresses, then build towards replacing the
hospitality industry. You can't judge these companies by the scope of the
MVPs.

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panic
If the MVP isn't compelling, why even spend time and money developing it? Why
not spend those resources building something closer to the "real" product?

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dang
There's a long history of big things starting as small things.
[http://www.paulgraham.com/altair.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/altair.html)

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panic
People actually wanted to use those things, though, even though they sounded
silly and small. That's why they were able to grow into something larger.
Microsoft's customers weren't thinking, "well, Altair Basic isn't that useful,
but you can't judge them by the scope of their MVP -- Microsoft told their
investors they'll build a whole OS someday."

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dang
That sounds tautological to me, but maybe I'm not following your argument. I
do sense a bit of hindsight in it, though. The initial market for Altair BASIC
was as small as it gets.

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dopeboy
I like ShapeScale. As someone going through an intense regimented workout
program, I would love to see the micro changes going on in my body. I wouldn't
buy one but could definitely see myself going to a local gym to use it every
so often.

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kzhahou
From the headline to the article itself, I prefer to think of it as "
_Entrepreneurs_ Get Hardcode About Hardware." YC vets and funds -- the
innovation belongs to the teams.

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inversionOf
Offtopic, but the magic piece of hardware will be a washer / dryer that is
actually competent at both tasks.

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joecomotion
The magic will be when my hamper contents gets emptied / sorted / washed /
dried / folded without my intervention. Bonus points for refiling in my closet
and bureau.

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dmritard96
100% agreed. This and dishes are two things that would leave so much time in
my life for things I would rather be doing. Like building a sandwich machine
haha

