Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

I'm not so sure about your example.

Get a self-driving truck, and add some sort of people-sensing system that allows potential customers to intuitively flag it down. Then add a self-serve ice cream vending machine.

Now you can build a fleet of ice cream trucks that don't need human operators. I think you could make a few millionaires with that.

My point is not that automated ice cream trucks are the future. My point is that "small" improvements amortized across enough units can be significant.

Now, there's probably a pretty hard ceiling to the amount of income one of these trucks can bring in, so investing in business intelligence or a snazzy customer experience probably isn't a good investment. (Which is probably what parent was imagining.)

But don't underestimate the power of shrinking costs. If you sell a billion screws a year, a one-tenth of a cent improvement in unit manufacturing cost is a million dollars a year.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: