Comments on: Investors & Customers – sometimes there’s an early stage disconnect http://giffconstable.com/2010/03/investors-customers-%e2%80%93-sometimes-there%e2%80%99s-an-early-stage-disconnect/ Giff Constable's blog on technology, media, startups, and whatever else interests me Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:32:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: giffc http://giffconstable.com/2010/03/investors-customers-%e2%80%93-sometimes-there%e2%80%99s-an-early-stage-disconnect/comment-page-1/#comment-267 giffc Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:31:12 +0000 http://giffconstable.com/?p=488#comment-267 good luck Gail! good luck Gail!

]]> By: giffc http://giffconstable.com/2010/03/investors-customers-%e2%80%93-sometimes-there%e2%80%99s-an-early-stage-disconnect/comment-page-1/#comment-675 giffc Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:31:00 +0000 http://giffconstable.com/?p=488#comment-675 good luck Gail! good luck Gail!

]]> By: Gail Nichols http://giffconstable.com/2010/03/investors-customers-%e2%80%93-sometimes-there%e2%80%99s-an-early-stage-disconnect/comment-page-1/#comment-266 Gail Nichols Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:55:43 +0000 http://giffconstable.com/?p=488#comment-266 I'm co-founder & bootstrapper of a disruptive (now patented) system <a href="http://bit.ly/4oCACf" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/4oCACf</a> that consumers (esp women) LOVE & that investors are watching with skepticism....very frustrating :-/ We pioneered 4 other worldwide industry-changers...this will be the most significant of all. I'm co-founder & bootstrapper of a disruptive (now patented) system http://bit.ly/4oCACf that consumers (esp women) LOVE & that investors are watching with skepticism….very frustrating :-/ We pioneered 4 other worldwide industry-changers…this will be the most significant of all.

]]> By: giffc http://giffconstable.com/2010/03/investors-customers-%e2%80%93-sometimes-there%e2%80%99s-an-early-stage-disconnect/comment-page-1/#comment-265 giffc Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:53 +0000 http://giffconstable.com/?p=488#comment-265 I do think it depends on how disruptive you are trying to be but there is a lot of validity to what you are saying. But disconnects happen in different places. Gilt Group copied an existing model, tho they probably faced doubt on distribution or maintaining inventory. Other companies innovate on solving a technical or creative gap, but the ROI concepts or monetization methods don't have to be radical. I do agree that *something* in the model needs to be innovative and exploit a gap or create a new market, and with innovation comes natural "disconnects". Perhaps this post was just my indirect way of puzzling over how many silicon valley insiders are excited about consumers sharing purchase data with the world. I do think it depends on how disruptive you are trying to be but there is a lot of validity to what you are saying. But disconnects happen in different places. Gilt Group copied an existing model, tho they probably faced doubt on distribution or maintaining inventory. Other companies innovate on solving a technical or creative gap, but the ROI concepts or monetization methods don't have to be radical. I do agree that *something* in the model needs to be innovative and exploit a gap or create a new market, and with innovation comes natural “disconnects”. Perhaps this post was just my indirect way of puzzling over how many silicon valley insiders are excited about consumers sharing purchase data with the world.

]]> By: ginsu http://giffconstable.com/2010/03/investors-customers-%e2%80%93-sometimes-there%e2%80%99s-an-early-stage-disconnect/comment-page-1/#comment-264 ginsu Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:54:17 +0000 http://giffconstable.com/?p=488#comment-264 "Sometimes" there's an early-stage disconnect? I (self-servingly) think that early on there should be a disconnect with the majority of the investors you talk to; otherwise your approach probably isn't innovative enough.<br><br>Isn't the goal of startups to find something customers like that the majority of investors, marketers, and other domain experts think is questionable at best? If your customers respond only to points that everyone already knew would work, you already have too much competition. “Sometimes” there's an early-stage disconnect? I (self-servingly) think that early on there should be a disconnect with the majority of the investors you talk to; otherwise your approach probably isn't innovative enough.

Isn't the goal of startups to find something customers like that the majority of investors, marketers, and other domain experts think is questionable at best? If your customers respond only to points that everyone already knew would work, you already have too much competition.

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