Cafe X

Cafe X: Starbucks-quality coffee from a 10-sq-ft robot

Shaan argues the winning play isn't Cafe X specifically but a robot-arm coffee bar that serves Starbucks-grade, customizable drinks faster and cheaper, in a tenth of the footprint, with no staff, that you can drop into apartment buildings or gas stations.

“And CafeX basically says, cool, what if we could serve coffee faster and cheaper than a Starbucks? What if we could serve Starbucks quality coffee but faster and cheaper than a Starbucks? Why? Because we have a robot arm that could just do the thing. 24/7 and never call in sick and never be an employee, never need, never have any employee like issues. And by the way, I take up 1/10 of the square footage of a Starbucks because it's like a, it's like a giant robot in a hamster ball.”

Steal thisBuild automated retail that beats the incumbent on speed, price, and footprint, then place it where a staffed location can't fit.