
“Too Cool to Do Drugs” Pencils
In the 1990’s, TIL A company made pencils with the anti-drug slogan “Too Cool to Do Drugs” but had to recall them because, when sharpened, they read “Do Drugs”
Some of the key signs customer success is the cause of failure includes: not listening to your customers to garner feedback, not picking the right early customers well, building a product with quality issues, and/or selling to customers who are too small or too big.
In the 1990’s, TIL A company made pencils with the anti-drug slogan “Too Cool to Do Drugs” but had to recall them because, when sharpened, they read “Do Drugs”
After peaking at an $8.5 billion valuation in the public market in 2021, 23andMe is at risk of being delisted from the Nasdaq in early 2024 as it’s stock is down 96%. Security breaches impacted 6.9 million users and they have struggled to find
Launched in 2015, the soles of the SpringBlade have 16 angled blades made out of polymer, and are meant to create an energetic and springy push-off. The SpringBlade, which costs $180-$200 per pair, was marketed as a running shoe that contained “explosive” energy, which
Launched in 2016 and discontinued in 2024, Amazon gave up on the cashier-less “Just Walk Out” technology at its Amazon Fresh grocery stores. New stores will be built without computer-vision-powered surveillance technology, and “the majority” of existing stores will have the tech removed. In the
The 1975-80 AMC Pacer was a key factor in American Motors’ demise as an independent automaker. The Pacer was AMC’s most costly new car of the 1970s. Because of the car’s heft it consumed a lot of oil, gas mileage and acceleration was weak,
Launched in 1998 and discontinued in 2000, The Apple “Hockey Puck” mouse had an unergonomic and uncomfortable shape, which made it difficult for users to orient correctly while using it. Additionally, the build quality was generally considered poor. However, the “Hockey Puck” mouse was
Released in 1980 and discontinued in 1984, the Apple III was dogged by many design faults, such as chips coming out of sockets, real time clocks not working, and excessive heat problems due to over populated boards.
Released in 1983, “Lisa” stood for “Local Integrated Software Architecture” and was also the name of Steve Jobs’ oldest daughter. Lisa’s user experience was sluggish, while its $9,995 price tag ($27,978 in 2022 dollars) was only affordable for the wealthy. Only 10,000 Apple Lisa’s
In 1997, the high price and early problems with its handwriting recognition feature limited Apple Newton’s sales.