Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup

Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by deckeraa on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @11:17PM (#24574909)

There's a distinction to be made:

- If your business doesn't rely on new technology, then avoid bleeding edge tech (examples: you retail co-working space, rent apartments, do food/grocery delivery, etc.)

- If your business model does rely on new technology (examples: airlines in the early 20th century, railroads in the early days of the steam engine, e-commerce in the early 2000s) then you have to work out a way to deliver on bleeding-edge technology. That's where your competitive advantage lies and that's where the nice margins are.

Though even in the latter scenario, it's still prudent to narrow the scope of your bleeding-edge tech as much as possible (e.g. if you're doing a cryptocurrency app, you probably shouldn't be trying to make your own NoSQL database at the same time).

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by imposterr on Thursday September 24, 2020 @12:00AM (#24575112)

>Though even in the latter scenario, it's still prudent to narrow the scope of your bleeding-edge tech as much as possible (e.g. if you're doing a cryptocurrency app, you probably shouldn't be trying to make your own NoSQL database at the same time).

Nonsense, the database is the back up plan so you can pivot to a DB company if your main thing doesn't work out.

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by meowface on Thursday September 24, 2020 @12:37AM (#24575293)

Or pivot to "we're a blockchain-based database". And when that fails, "we're a blockchain stored in a database". After that, you'll have to get creative with the neologisms: "we're the first ever datachain backed by a Baseblock".

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by einpoklum on Thursday September 24, 2020 @05:04AM (#24576711)

Hasn't the blockchain hype subsided a little by now?

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by anaganisk on Thursday September 24, 2020 @05:53AM (#24576976)

Atleast in India its gone completely, Here they started with a blockchain( just a database stored on a central government servers) for everything. After crytpo currency got banned here and now i don't even hear blockchain anymore. People can't even differentiate between blockchain and Bitcoin lol.

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by exdsq on Thursday September 24, 2020 @08:39AM (#24578013)

Thankfully yes. I work in the space and we're starting to see projects/products roll out, without the high number of scams we saw in 2017/18. Hopefully by the next time the hype-train starts there's something there to be hyped about!

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by throwawaynothx on Thursday September 24, 2020 @01:33AM (#24575553)

BITCONNNEEEEEEEECCCCCCTTTTTTTTT

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by quickthrower2 on Thursday September 24, 2020 @07:48AM (#24577650)

Make your own pencil factory for the stationary cabinet too, as a backup plan. Buy a coffee plantation to fuel your devs caffeine habit, which can be monetised if the main biz goes south.

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by gaogao on Thursday September 24, 2020 @08:17AM (#24577843)

Or if you're a game studio, build a messaging platform to pivot to e.g. Slack and Discord.

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by taneq on Thursday September 24, 2020 @01:53AM (#24575672)

> If your business model does rely on new technology (examples: airlines in the early 20th century, railroads in the early days of the steam engine, e-commerce in the early 2000s) then you have to work out a way to deliver on bleeding-edge technology.

Also, if your business model does rely on new bleeding edge tech, avoid all other bleeding edge tech. Pick one thing that nobody else can do, and do that. Don't try and create everything at once unless you have ridiculously deep pockets.

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by atoav on Thursday September 24, 2020 @01:45AM (#24575617)

There are these geniuses that can do something they never did before and create something truly amazing. But realistically even they don't manage to deliver on that the majority of the time.

Even the steam engine people had to rely on known standard parts like screws and bolts and known planing or manufacturing procedures that they didn't invent. Only because they knew which forces a bolt would withstand and learned from (at times catastrophic) failure they were able to even have a bleeding edge.

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by wbl on Thursday September 24, 2020 @07:05AM (#24577374)

The standarized screw was after the steam engine. It wasn't until 1841 that Whitworth promulgated his thread. Before then every rail manufacturer had their own house standard.

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by quickthrower2 on Thursday September 24, 2020 @07:50AM (#24577670)

It was standard to use unstandardised screws.

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Re:Bleeding-edge tech will kill your startup by atoav on Friday September 25, 2020 @01:37AM (#24586878)

You are right, thanks for the hint.

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