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The Seventy Million Dollar Question

Blog: Form Follows Function

Bandwagon

 

Just when I thought I was done posting for the week, they suck me back in.

Juicero started lighting up my Twitter feed a little while ago. For those, like me, who have no earthly idea what Juicero is, it’s a startup that makes an “Internet-connected kitchen appliance”:

Juicero’s flagship product is a $699 countertop device that cold presses juice out of “packs” of already prepped fruit and veggies. The packs — reminiscent of the cups and pouches used in single-cup coffee brewers from Keurig, Flavia or Nespresso — cost $4 to $10 each and are available through a Juicero subscription, but not in groceries.

Juicero just picked up $70 million in Series B funding. ‘Cause digital.

There is just one hitch – you don’t actually need the high-dollar hardware to make the juice:

But after the product hit the market, some investors were surprised to discover a much cheaper alternative: You can squeeze the Juicero bags with your bare hands. Two backers said the final device was bulkier than what was originally pitched and that they were puzzled to find that customers could achieve similar results without it. Bloomberg performed its own press test, pitting a Juicero machine against a reporter’s grip. The experiment found that squeezing the bag yields nearly the same amount of juice just as quickly—and in some cases, faster—than using the device.

Fortunately (ahem), Juicero only sells the bags, at anywhere from $5 to $8 apiece, to owners of the hardware. Performance between the device and non-standard hardware (your bare hands) is mixed:

In Bloomberg’s squeeze tests, hands did the job quicker, but the device was slightly more thorough. Reporters were able to wring 7.5 ounces of juice in a minute and a half. The machine yielded 8 ounces in about two minutes.

Almost 5 years ago, I wrote a post titled “The Most Important Question”. In it I stated the following:

The most important question in architecture is “why”. When questioned about any aspect of the design, if you cannot justify the decision, you should revisit it. Being able to list outcomes, both good and bad, and explain the reasoning behind your choices will garner trust from both customers and colleagues. Most importantly, it should boost your own confidence in the design.

With a little editing:

The most important question in architecture innovation is “why”. When questioned about any aspect of the design product, if you cannot justify the decision, you should revisit it. Being able to list outcomes, both good and bad, and explain the reasoning behind your choices will garner trust from both customers and colleagues. Most importantly, it should boost your own confidence in the design product.

Asking “why” could have probably saved some people a lot of money, just sayin’.

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