Tags
Current idea
Online payments
How they found the new idea
Brainstorming and tinkering: Nonstop ideation and exploration looking for big opportunities.
Original idea
Encyption for handheld devices called Fieldlink, then beaming money between PalmPilots
Reason for pivot
Realized it was a bad idea
References
https://www.wired.com/1999/07/paypal-puts-dough-in-your-palm/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpQ3qb5X-sU&t=2573s
The story
“Hard does not equal valuable. We built this really interesting piece of technology, but it doesn’t mean it’s valuable. It’s valuable technology, but value is what someone else will pay for it. And if we go, oh, that’s really clever, it’s a nice little art project, I’ll pay you a buck for it that, does not mean that’s valuable.” —Reid Hofffman, former board member and COO
Time to pivot
1 year
What they kept from the original idea
Mobile as a concept