Misfits Market founder Abhi Ramesh reflects on whether the coding bootcamp model behind his former startup, Horizons, remains viable today.
Insight
Founders Should Hire for the Current Stage, Not Three Years Out
“I actually ended up hiring folks that were right for the stage that we were in today, not for the stage that we'd be at in three years. There's pros and cons doing that, and I think for me, I needed someone that could do the job, not someone who could sort of …”
Insight
Founders Must Honestly Identify Their Fundamental Underlying Business Operations
“You have to be very honest with yourself on what business you actually are in. Because with us, right, with misfits, it's easy to say, oh, we're e-commerce, we're, you know, grocery, we're, but fundamentally, we're an operations and logistics business. And bei…”
Insight
Test Prep Parents Preferred Top-Scoring Tutors Over Standalone Software
“Given who our customer was, you know, like a high performing student with, you know, parents that they want to figure out a way to get their students to get great scores. They didn't want to just pay for software. They wanted to look a, so a kid who got 2400 o…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
No Market Price Existed for Cosmetically Imperfect Produce Before Misfits Market
“Things have changed a little bit now, but at the time, there was really no market for these items, and so there was no such thing as a market price.”
Assertion Contradicted
US Landfill Methane Emissions From Food Waste Far Outstrip Aviation Emissions
“10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U S comes from methane produced by landfills, which is, which are filled with food waste. It's an order of magnitude higher than what's produced by planes.”
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
NJ Governor Intervened to Deem Misfits Market an Essential Pandemic Business
“For a moment in time, you know, the authorities actually said, you're not, you know, you guys have to shut down. I actually got in touch with the governor's office in New Jersey. The governor of New Jersey had to actually kind of, like, step in and say, no, no…”