How easy it is for companies to look like they are tech companies, when they have very little tech.

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Numilk


Saw this company on Shark Tank, where it got 2 million dollars invested and checking Google, it looks like it’s raised 1.5-4 million since the show.
Pitch

Numilk is a kiosk machine which makes milk fresh from almonds or oats. It can also add things a user requests, such as chocolate or vanilla.

Benefits

  1. Taste
    Fresh almond milk does taste noticeably different from almond milk found in most stores.
    Reason is the almond juice and the what’s mixed into the milk don’t stay the same when stored. Basically just gravity and can damage the almond juice.
    It sounds like it’d be a minor thing, but tastes noticeably different.
  2. Store space
    Grocery stores are really limited on freezer/fridge space and most retailers just sell the space to brands, versus buying the product.
    The benefit to this kiosk is if people had milk made in the store and some put pre made for customers, it’d mean less fridge space needed.
    This also could save money, because smaller energy costs.
  3. Customization
    Even on little things, people do like things being customized for them and if that’s allowing people to say how much chocolate or whatever, it can work.

So is this a good idea?

Yes, really good and easy to see a benefit.

The problem?

This isn’t difficult technology to redo and they’ve raised millions as a tech company.

Watched a video on how to make almond milk from scratch and it’s a really simple process.

Soak almonds in bowl of water.
Blend almonds in blender.
Pour into container, with cloth to filter chunks.

Basically this company and product is a kiosk that has a blender, a filter, an ability to pour in mixes and a supply of oats/almonds that were pre soaked.

Checked Google Patents and found the company really had limited IP, where there’s really nothing protecting this idea.

So was this a bad investment?

No, because it’s a good idea that can work if branded right.

The only issue is it’s not very unique and if it gained popularity, there’d be a ton of knockoffs pretty fast.

Which that’s sort of the pro and the con to labeling something as a tech company.

Even if the idea doesn’t have a very complex science or tech behind it, the surge of money can be a big deal in getting it around first.

The problem though is investors pump 20 million into a concept a good presentation made them think was unique, wasn’t unique and others copied it fast.

I still think this could be really successful, but sort of amusing how things get presented more technical over they are.



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2 comments
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This happens often. People sell sizzle, what we see and hear. A good pitch has sold a huge amount of snake oil and weight loss products. The idea may not be unique, but when pitched to the right people at the right time, the fast influx of cash can be a tipping point to success.

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