Disruptive Companies, Passionate Teams

I’ve come to the realization that I like companies that try to disrupt a market. Whether it be phones, IoT devices, or software. Love rooting for the next up and coming success story, even if it means some growing pains along the way. I tend to be a very passionate person when it comes to technology.  I find myself pouring over details, specs, and features with each new thing. It’s rewarding to engage their teams over the details, as you get to see their drive and dedication.

The products trying to disrupt the market are often ones that bring in their own special flare. Even though they may not offer all the same features as the industry leaders, you can tell they are making a difference through the details. The communications coming out of these teams show their passion.  They don’t often generate hostility. As a result, their message tends to be softer and they normally try to rally others to join them.  As a result of a more neutral tone, hoping to rally people together, you often find that these teams often offer the best support. With good support comes a good and lasting impression on the market, because the best form of marketing is word of mouth.

Because of my passion for technology and great products, I often find myself going out of my way to find these new and upcoming products or technologies.  Over the years, I’ve bought into or crowdfunded numerous products that were either help achieve a personal or professional need.  I don’t always buy into products solely for the product itself, I often do it for the experience and the support. I’ve had the opportunity to follow a number of companies who were just starting out to flourishing into companies now competing against some industry leaders or going through large acquisitions. These teams were huge on gathering feedback and interacting with their communities or “evangelists”.

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What about these electric cars? Are they really worth the hype?

Following up on my last post, which was more focused around Google and the driverless car comes this post. Tesla too, created by a very smart and ambitious Elon Musk. Not that I am harping on the accomplishments or the vision, however a lot of what comes out of Tesla in my opinion seem to be repeating the past.  We all know about “Who Killed the Electric Car”.  Has Tesla learned from that? Are they doing things differently?

In my opinion, of which has been formulated based on facts, is that Tesla is repeating some of the same mistakes as GM did in the 90s.  Electric cars carry something called range anxiety.  Replacement batteries are expensive. Charging your battery takes much longer than filling up your tank with gas. These aren’t easy problems to address, but ones that require a lot of money and effort to solve.

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Why is the tech industry desperate to disrupt the auto industry if it doesn’t know what is all about?

Technology blogs and journalists are praising the likes of Google, Tesla and many others.  This is great, those companies are creating terrific products. They are innovating in a market that has been relatively slow to turn around and that has been plagued with various degrees of problems. So why you wonder am I writing this after the title I put up? The short answer… Google, Tesla, and others are NOT the solution or the disruptors of the auto industry.

I’ve gone off on several rants on Facebook, Google+ and in some cases on Twitter.  I really do not want to discredit the advancements Google has made on self driving cars. I also am not looking to discredit Tesla for releasing an electric car. But those products are only scratching the surface of what a full car that can fully disrupt the industry should be. I know, you are probably saying “well Tesla is selling cars”. Yep, you are right. They are good cars. But let me ask you this, are they available to anyone? Is it an inconvenience for you to buy one?

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