Things I hope Starbucks announces today
I know most people usually do this with Steve Jobs, but I’m a big fan of Starbucks and am really looking forward to the coming announcements from Howard on what the future holds for Starbucks.
Here are the things I am hoping to see unveiled today. Some I think we might see, some might be wishful thinking.
- Clover’s in every Starbucks. Or at least in higher volume stores. (The Clover is a machine that Starbucks has been test marketing in a few stores in Seattle and Boston that makes a fresh coffee press in 1 minute. It makes great brewed coffee that is similar to a french press.)
- Anew customer loyalty plan of some kind. Not a typical buy 10 get 1 free, but hopefully something new and innovative.
- More coverage. It’s a tough move to make, but Howard Behar made the move when he was working with Howard and it certainly paid off. Having more than 2 people actually working of the first hour and and last hour of operations seems to be key.
- An actual make your own Starbucks Card, not just put a few words in a template.
- That they will close….(I don’t know 75%?) of their license stores when the contracts run out. It would take awhile for this to take place, but it has to start somewhere. It has ruined the coffee experience and guided people in the direction of not seeing a difference between Starbucks and McDonalds coffee.
I think those would be some good first steps and I hope to see something along those lines later today. Any other ideas?
Two of my favorite things should come together.
Tomorrow is the Starbucks Annual Meeting, which I really wish I was going to. I’m a shareholder, but with just recently taking a vacation, decided I should be at work, rather than checking out what Howard talks about tomorrow. He’s typically not rolling out as many new and noteworthy things as Steve Jobs, but since it is his first meeting since retaking his role as CEO, it may be the biggest meeting in recent history.
Then this coming Thursday is the beginning of March Madness. The best sporting event of the year that typically does not have Oregon State in it. With the tournament comes office pools and many many brackets being filled out, distributed, and talked about with almost every person you know. I have what I think is my final bracket, but with UCLA having two potential game changing injuries, I may have to change it again tomorrow.
As there is a rumor that Starbucks may be unveiling a customer loyalty program tomorrow it got me thinking as to what this program can, will, and should look like.
Money Saving tips turn into…have a life and get fired.
Recently I have been seeing alot of talk about the work life balance in the startup community. On a Seattle Startup mailing list talking about the 4 day work week and then today Jason Calacanis and Tech Crunch have been posting back and forth about their ideas for a work life balance at a startup.
Calacanis posted a great post about money saving tips for a startup. His ideas include
- Buying lunch for the team and having meetings over lunch- Save time and not have other meetings.
- Buy Mac’s- more expensive up front, but save money on IT.
- Buy second monitors- makes people more productive and happy.
- Don’t buy a phone system- Most people can use cell phones, only buy phones for the people on them all the time.
- Buy the hardest working people computers from home so that they can work at home and on their own time.
- Get an expensive automatic espresso machine and keep it fully stocked with milks, nice beans, and syrups.
- Don’t waste money on PR or recruiters.
and the one that has created all of the publicity around the web…
Kleiner Perkins creates a $100M iFund
Kliener Perkins along with Apple has created a $100M fund, called the iFund, which will be used to help create a development community for the iPhone. Today Apple announced quite a few new things for the iPhone, including Microsoft Server Exchange support and the the Software Developers Kit which will allow any developer to create their own applications for the iPhone. It looks like it will be a great platform, with alot of cool functions and features, but does it really need a $100M fund?
Since the iPhone is less than a year old and already has gained a large market share it seems like a hot product with alot of room for growth, both on its platform and in the consumers hands (on their ears?). Apple has announced that they will be controlling ALL application sales through their iPhone Apps Store. This will allow them to make that all apps have been approved by Apple and that they are malicious, or porn, or anything like that. It will also make sure that Apple gets a cut of each application that is sold (30%). They have however, allowed each developer the freedom to charge whatever they want for the applications they have developed, even if it is free. This store, the platform, and what appears to be the ease of development for these applications seems to be reason enough to build an application, but Apple seems to think it needs more.
So the iFund will help developers get up and going and get their ideas funded to develop iPhone applications. I just don’t understand what the exit strategy for these companies will be though. Other than Apple acquiring them I just don’t see another exit strategy. Seems like a great deal for Apple, but not a great deal for Kleiner Perkins or the developers who take funding. Although Kleiner Perkins is generaly viewed as one of the top VC firms in the industry, so maybe I’m just young and don’t understand the business well enough yet.
About Otis
I live in Seattle, Washington. I am passionate about working with and interacting with others. My work experience includes marketing, account management, and sales.
I am a huge sports fan who on top of cheering for my favorite teams (Go Beavs!) also appreciates coaching strategy, as well as the marketing behind teams, players, and events.
Personally, I enjoys exploring new cities and areas (particularly small towns) and getting outside and playing.