I think Softbank's main problem is that they fund opportunity without considering execution at all. It's very possible that a dog walking service could be a multibillion opportunity (millennials/gen Z choosing to have pets over kids in greater numbers and working FT), but was there really anything special about this specific team that would lead anyone to believe they could execute with a $300m injection? I don't think so.
A business like this that doesn't really rely on technology would be far better run if it was helmed by MBAs with operational experience.
This entire business is basically a gigantic spreadsheet where you move things around to optimize profitability. Believing that this is a "tech" startup is where you start to fail.
I see so many businesses fail to make this distinction.
Stripe is a tech company, as is Boston Dynamics. But Wag is a tech leveraged business.
It’s like pretty much every other one of these market making companies. At a local level—it’s something that people can and do organize with telephones, email, and maybe calendars and spreadsheets.
I’m not sure what the advantage of having the same service exist in a bunch of cities is.
And you have the usual problem that most people prefer to use individuals they are comfortable with and have maybe been recommended by friends. Especially for something like dog walking.
Maybe there’s a market for selling dog walking business kits with software. But that’s not $300m.
I can understand the advantage of a global player in a category like transportation. Being able to Uber anywhere takes a lot of the pain out of traveling.
But things like babysitting or dogwalking don't offer any advantages if they are globally available. You're going to need a dog walker in the same city, the same house, the same neighborhood. Most people would rather just find one walker they like and stick with them
Even with Uber, the number of people who flit between cities around the world in a regular basis is fairly small. I travel quite a bit, including globally, and I don’t really use Uber much.
But there’s some advantage to being global or at least national in a way that isn’t relevant for services you use almost entirely at home.
My current org is composed of mostly MS and PHDs (I'd honestly say 60% have graduate degrees), the only thing it convinced me of is that if you're working in my company and went to MIT (or any other good school) something is wrong with you or you're a foreigner who took whatever job was willing to sponsor your green card.
