> Right after I read this, my immediate reaction was to
> feel kind of annoyed at the author. A little
> superficially, no tech or design talent in house, no
> food industry experience, and not much marketing and
> sales expertise, so what exactly does he bring to the
> table here, besides really wanting a startup?
He addresses this specifically, talking about how it went against everything his Austrian upbringing suggested.
But also: am I wrong to think that there are many examples of successful startups being started by outsiders? Execution sounded pretty reasonable, he just had misjudged the market, based on the same model working well in other markets.
This business was a pure play "do this thing you already do, but now with a computer" model. Understanding the market IS the execution. He subbed out the design of the site and frankly most of the actual company. So really, the "execution" was essentially knowing product/market fit. I would argue the execution was, in fact, horrible. He did non-representative research, tried to start at full scale, and had no idea what sort of market he was operating.
>failed to pivot when his launch did 12 orders first week.
But also: am I wrong to think that there are many examples of successful startups being started by outsiders? Execution sounded pretty reasonable, he just had misjudged the market, based on the same model working well in other markets.