S05.E25: Light Bulbs, Corks And Books

[yeswedo]

 

Smart light bulb; high-tech cork replacement; subscription service for children's books' fort-building constructions kits for kids; a follow-up on the Breathometer.

Original airdate April 18, 2014

[starri]

I'm sure a lot of people are scratching their heads over the Ilumi deal, but no one thought the Nest Thermostat would take off, and they're starting to branch into other products (albeit not very successfully yet), and I'm sure that's what Mark was thinking.

[Kromm]

Wow, Fort Magic lady was screwy.

[starri]

She had crazy eyes and seemed to rarely blink.

I don't have kids, so I'm probably not the best person to comment on whether or not that's a product that I would purchase, but for just the parts and without the fabric, that's not any kind of deal at that price.  I mean, I'm all for stuff that encourages kids to build and use their creativity instead of sitting in front of video games, but I bet that most kids would be just fine with a refrigerator box and some blankets.

[charlieboo]

Seriously. I would think most people would build the fort and them throw a blanket over the whole thing, which makes it pretty much the same as using a table. Instead of fabric, they should make cardboard or thin plastic panels you can slide in to place. Then again, it's called imagination for a reason. Any kid can make a cardboard box into anything. This seems like a toy you use once and then forget about. No kid can/will build it on his own, and how many parents have the time and/or patience to build it more than once? Didn't she say it has like 300 pieces? Yeah, none of those will get lost....

[starri]

 

Yeah, none of those will get lost....

Or stepped on by a barefoot parent...

[A Boston Gal]

Exactly, exactly! All those intricate shapes are meaningless if you throw a blanket over it, which is your only option at the moment, since the custom fabric isn't included. I have no idea if this lady is smart or not, because she came off on camera as a ditz with a capital D. I can't put my finger on who she reminds me of, but I'm guessing it's some Bravo reality show attention-ho, or a Toddlers and Tiara's parent. She just had that vibe.

[me5671]

I agree with everyone else about the Fort Magic product and entrepreneur.  As it is at the current price and without the fabric, it doesn't make a lot of sense.  It sounds like a great idea on paper, but this lady seems to have bungled it in the execution.  I feel worst for her mother, who's "invested" (or rather, "sunk"), $200k into this product already.  Yikes!

 I liked the Zoobean couple, but I wasn't a fan of the product AT ALL.  It doesn't seem very invest-able, to me.  It's basically an Amazon that can do slightly more specific searches.  But if your search is THAT specific, don't you think people will find the product anyway through other means?  I didn't get this product at all so I was not surprised to see the sharks jump out so quickly.  Mark's investment in it shocked me honestly.  I get that he invested on the basis that it would have wider applications, but that's not what they are now and I'm not sure that's what they ever can be.  Time will tell.

I'm not thrilled and not at all surprised that the Breathometer product is turning out to be a hit.  It's a cool product and it has the backing of 5 sharks.  Did they say they got 1 million orders in the three months since Shark Tank's airing?  That's impressive if I heard that correctly.

[LittleIggy]

In the dark ages before computers and video games, we had a school desk (it was brand new looking, don't know where my parents got it) that we used as a basis for all kinds of imaginary play, flipping it every which way and throwing blankets over it. It could be a fort, a pirate ship, a stage coach, anything.

[starri]

 

Mark's investment in it shocked me honestly.  I get that he invested on the basis that it would have wider applications, but that's not what they are now and I'm not sure that's what they ever can be.  Time will tell.

Didn't the dad mention that he'd been a rather high muckety-muck at Google?  I'm sure at least part of his decision to make an offer was either based on acquiring talent (there's some stupid portmanteau about buying a company just to get its employees, but I can't think of what it is) or perhaps thinking that as they continue to develop the algorithm, they'll either end up licensing it, or that an Amazon or a Google will buy it.

[MrMattyMatt]

Zoobean - Having worked a software company (not major) that developed search engines for websites with similar filtering, that was a really bad deal, unless we missed something.  I went and tried the site.  You're forced to fill in questions regarding the child and then you are forced to create an account to go any further to see any merchandise.  Brick Wall right there, Just show me the damn books!! I can imagine many people abandon the website at that point.   Too bad for Mark.

I'll bet Lori & QVC can and will come out with a better version of Fort-mom's idea, complete with the fabric and at a fraction of the cost.

Edited April 21, 2014 by MrMattyMatt

[leighdear]

 

Exactly, exactly! All those intricate shapes are meaningless if you throw a blanket over it, which is your only option at the moment, since the custom fabric isn't included.

And how much weight can one of the structures hold?  Sheets and felt yardage don't weight that much, but an actual big blanket that you could throw over a card table safely would probably crush or bow those thin rods & connectors.  It was hard to tell since the fabric she showed looked to be felt which is fairly lightweight.  

However, 36" felt usually runs about $3 a yard and 72" felt usually runs about $6 a yard.  Depending on the size of the structure, you may have to buy a LOT of felt. Then cut the right sizes and shapes.  And possibly sew it together.  For just a SINGLE configuration.  And if you have a daughter that wants a purple castle sharing the set with her brother that wants a brown TeePee, you've got potentially a big and expensive project ahead of you.  

Yeah, I'm probably seeing way more problems than really exist with this product.....*LOL*

[Kromm]

Zoobean - Having worked a software company (not major) that developed search engines for websites with similar filtering, that was a really bad deal, unless we missed something.  I went and tried the site.  You're forced to fill in questions regarding the child and then you are forced to create an account to go any further to see any merchandise.  Brick Wall right there, Just show me the damn books!! I can imagine many people abandon the website at that point.   Too bad for Mark.

Yeah, but you have an inherent problem in that if you simply GIVE people the recommendation without registration then you basically are inviting the masses to use your site to search out a product, then flip on over to Amazon to buy it cheaper.