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2 ex-Google guys secure venture capital, re-invent vending machines

Fred-87

Member
If their model is really to displace bodegas and other small corner stores, which are often run by local ethnic minorities in large cities, with a network of "smart cabinets" that feed money back into a single corp run by two ex-Google guys I think "gentrification" is at least not inaccurate

That progress is not stoppable :(. Same like supermarkets who at one time took away most small business owners like bakers/butchers and so on.
 

Fafalada

Fafracer forever
KingV said:
I'm not sure if vending machines exist that sell 12 packs of toilet paper, but I know I have personally bought like giant 2 liter beer cans with handles.
Also things like 1-liter whiskey bottles - more importantly Japan had that for at least 20 years - it's kind of ancient stuff.
 
It's not a terrible idea, but doesn't strike me as all that original. My office has a space like this, where you go in, grab a sandwich or a candy bar or a soda, and scan it and pay with your credit card. A little clunkier than what they are proposing though, but similar. Calling it Bodega is tacky as fuck though.
 

IronRinn

Member
"Up late actualizing your potential by brainstorming a new AR app and want Doritos and Ho Hos but don't want to have to walk around the corner and interact with poors? Have we got the product for you!"
 

KoopaTheCasual

Junior Member
They really went and named themselves "Bodega" with a cat logo? Go get fucked.

Either this is blatant attempt at cutting into their (actual bodegas) market, or they expect the two to co-exist, even with the confusion generated by this shitty start-up's stolen name. Either way, WACK.

can this thing cook me a bacon egg and cheese on a bagel or what?
Literal gentrifying business model. Jesus...

Just stay away from NYC.
yup and yup.
 

Paganmoon

Member
So... basically, Convini "Mat på Jobbet" type deal?

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But instead of food, it's non-perishables?
 

gaugebozo

Member
Pitch this to some venture capitalists and walk out with a cool ten million.
We're rolling out three products today. One is a social app, able to handle strung out people at 3 am. Another is a modern cooking device that makes bacon egg and cheeses. The third is a revolutionary mapping system that can tell you the closest place to buy weed.

Strung out people, bacon egg and cheese, weed.

Are you getting it?

These are not three separate devices, this is one device, and we are calling it Bodega.
 
Every venture capital Silicon Valley product is just something that already exists with the added hurdle of downloading yet another app
 

Lunaray

Member
So I was all ready to shit on this, but after reading it.... It's not a bad idea? They're just expanding on the vending machine model of business. I wouldn't mind having a vending machine selling useful items 24/7 in my apartment building.

Also, the title is just clickbait garbage. It's as much of a threat to mom-and-pop stores as vending machines, so should we hate on vending machines too?
 

Tobor

Member
Silicon Valley was a mistake



This is a much smarter idea i would actually use cos often i don't have the nessecary coins in my pocket

This already exists. The vending machines at my work have accepted Apple Pay since it first came out.
 

Kyuur

Member
It's not like other countries don't already have vending machines that carry diverse products like this already either. Hardly a new idea.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Also, the title is just clickbait garbage. It's as much of a threat to mom-and-pop stores as vending machines, so should we hate on vending machines too?

The guys running it have their eyes set on displacing "shopping experiences" and they named themselves Bodega. What do you think their goals are?
 

Lunaray

Member
The guys running it have their eyes set on displacing "shopping experiences" and they named themselves Bodega. What do you think their goals are?

I agree their naming and approach is completely tone-deaf. Functionally, I can't see these machines being a bigger threat than multinational hypermarts and Amazon.
 

bionic77

Member
I agree that this is a bad idea, but you do know you just effectively described an ideal capitalist scenario right?
True but the speed of it happening seems different and the government doesn't seem to have any plans or regulations to help the people getting fucked by these things.
 

Ernest

Banned
But the beset thing about bodegas are their FRESH-made sandwiches, sometimes with hot runny eggs and melty cheese - how are you gonna replicate that with you shitty little vending service?
 

dallow_bg

nods at old men
I don't understand the need for this elaborate app + camera system. A vending machine that allows you to pay via smart phone, using apps like Apple pay, would be cheaper to make and install. Hell, existing vending machines can be retro fitted yo except money from smart phone.

As has been mentioned, these have been around for a while.
Pretty much all new machines accept card and wireless payments. And my work has old machines with wireless modules attached to them.

They're dangerous because now they're super convenient to use. I would never have change.
 

entremet

Member
Yeah but Japan doesn't have a shiny new APP to sell to idiot investors who like shiny things.

Most VCs don't back only one thing. They back multiple ventures. Diversification is the name of the game, just like stocks.

They only need one good bet. But failure is expected with more than 90 percent of ventures.
 

night814

Member
Yea fuck them. Like local bodegas and corner stores don't have it bad enough with rising rent. Legit, fuck them.

Those evil corner stores being run by minorities are obviously the problem. This just seems like a solution to a problem no one has, there are already places on every corner in any urban areas that sell almost anything you need from diapers to cat food to laundry detergent. Making it automated does not make it better by any degree.
 
Can't wait until people just steal the entire machine.

This is a real possibility. Albertsons has taken down some of their self-checkout due to pure theft. This vending machine idea, while a spin on Amazon's future of grocery checkout, is likely to collapse due to the ease of thievery. It is a good idea in terms of convenience.
 

bachikarn

Member
If their model is really to displace bodegas and other small corner stores, which are often run by local ethnic minorities in large cities, with a network of "smart cabinets" that feed money back into a single corp run by two ex-Google guys I think "gentrification" is at least not inaccurate

It's in the article but bodega is a Hispanic/Latin term. Lots of bodegas are owned and operated by minorities in large cities. This company is legit taking the culture and pushing them out with it. Hurting these families worse than some are already now being with rising costs of rent.

It's despicable.

Gotcha. Thanks guys. I agree that it is really shitty.
 
Even if you remove all the bad optics of gentrification, some Silicon Valley startup moguls calling their app "Bodega" is just corny as fuck.
 
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