It's that time of the year again, where you have several minor heart attacks reading through the list of start-ups that might just be one you're about to launch.
On a another note, I have to say one that really stands out to me is True Link. The old-people credit card, my grandad has almost fallen for online scams before and I think all would happily get our grandparents this peace of mind. Brilliant idea that one.
I actually think this is a good idea for everyone, not just old-people, and I'm curious as to why it's being marketed this way. My parents and siblings have all had issues with this.
In fact, the worry I have is that they will pigeon-hole themselves into being a product for old people. When they go to expand to other markets (which according to their demo day pitch they will be), they may run into brand issues. No one, not kids, 20 somethings, or middle-aged people, want to feel old or be associated with anything that might make them feel that way (have you ever heard or seen someone rant about receiving an AARP letter in the mail?).
They can re-use the back end and banking relationships when moving to non-old-people markets, but I think they'd be better off using a new brand for cards for under-18, cards for normal people, etc.
Going 100% after the elderly market makes plenty of sense, though, for the future. There already are under-18 products, and elderly are kind of a unique market -- you don't want your parents/grandparents to be scammed, but they have every right to spend their money however they wish (since it's their money), unlike under-18 where it's usually money from parents.
Wonderful idea, but drop "for old people" and replace it
with something less like an elevator pitch, and more like
appealing marketing: 'reduced risk' or 'anti-scam'. And
then market it to people who are either children of aging parents or parents of younger teenagers - or both.
This is a minor nitpick and/or question. The sample conversation shown on the iPhone screen is in blue which indicates it's an iMessage conversation. Not a big deal, but it was a red flag to me because it meant I wasn't looking at a real screenshot of the product in action, but rather I was looking at promo material and I'm not sure how much of the product actually exists right now vs how much is a concept that is still being built.
This is what happens when you use free stock photos. The photo in question is taken from Unsplash (http://unsplash.com) and can be found if you scroll to the very bottom.
> This is what happens when you use free stock photos.
It happens often enough with not-free stock photos, as well. You're not paying for exclusivity in a lot of cases. I worked for a company that rolled out a front page with some office-themed photos which matched a nationwide office supply retailer's page.
Regalli's not a bad idea - you go into any of the hispanic neighborhoods in New York and there are wire transfer locations all over the place. They're something like 2% of Mexico's GDP. Major, major demand.
I had no idea Meta was a YC company until last night. If I had the money, they're the one company I'd invest in -- amazing team (Steve Mann! Probably ahead in 1980 of everyone else in 2013!), great product, great market, lousy competitor (Google Glass). Oculus Rift is more of a long-term competitor, IMO.
I've thought about the idea Butter Systems does countless times while eating out. Very cool if it works out. If flexible WIFI-enabled electronic-paper ever comes to fruition, you could make authentic paper-like menus that are interactive. I think that's still 10-20 years out there.
As someone who has lots of restaurant experience, this is interesting to me but there's lots of concerns. First are the actual tablets themselves.
Paper is cheap and reliable; a restaurant dropping a lot of money on a number of tablets is going to be a tough pill to swallow for many. In a tiny looking place like Bumble, not a big deal. But what about a sixty seat restaurant -- do you need one for every table? How many extras do you need to keep on hand? Does it stay on the table the whole night (which would make sense)? Do you have to spray them all with that new hydrophobic stuff to keep them clean and working? Do they all need otterboxes to survive the fall from the table? Are they going to be completely locked down so there's no incentive to steal the tablets?
I see the color coded table thing. When are servers going to be looking at this, is there a "server station" tablet, too? This also means that the expo in the kitchen is going to have to be trained and be running this device. Will there be a screen in the kitchen, paper dupes for the line cooks?
How much time do customers have to change their order.. is there some final check or something before it becomes an official "order?" Do the customers have to worry about seat numbers; how does this not turn into a food auction?
While I hope this would let service staff be even MORE knowledgeable about the menus (as they have less work to do), I hope it doesn't make them lazier ("I'm just a glorified food runner now").
Concerns aside, it's very cool to be able to update things in real time and I always think reading specials is preferable to hearing the speech from the server.
edit: Okay well I was quick to post and did the further reading which answers some, but not all of these questions. I still think it's an interesting idea that will have a niche for sure (there's plenty of wine lists on tablets and the like), but the execution will play a major part in the success, I think. Also, even if Buttersystems is the best freaking thing since sliced bread, getting restaurants to train and use it effectively is the real tricky part of this, I think.
I have, too. For me, personality of the service is one of the reasons why I'd eat in a restaurant so I didn't think it would work out (yet), but I'd gladly be proven wrong here.
The key for me is the stuff like "fill my water glass" and "check please" - you can never get the waiter's eye for those, it seems.
I like what the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co does in this regard - a simple red/green two-sided sign that you flip to red when you want a waiter, otherwise they will ignore you. Beautiful.
I agree. That also takes care of the overly attentive server as well. I had lunch with some co-workers a few weeks ago and the server stopped by our table so many times that we could barely have a conversation. It was mostly to ask us how everything was... over... and over... and over. I appreciate check ins but there are upper limits to their effectiveness. :)
On a another note, I have to say one that really stands out to me is True Link. The old-people credit card, my grandad has almost fallen for online scams before and I think all would happily get our grandparents this peace of mind. Brilliant idea that one.