Some years ago I was retained to help a client with an investment in a startup that was proposing to enter into the private payphone business. Telcos were getting out of the payphone business and the way had been cleared for private investment. I was not enamoured of the investment; I had just come back from a year in Eastern Europe during which some of my colleagues had been instrumental in getting early cel networks off the ground there. Celphones were very popular in Europe and it seemed obvious to me that they would be explosively popular in Canada as well.
In any event, while it wasn’t my role to counsel on the wisdom of the investment I threw in my $.02. But for various reasons I had to pass the file to someone else, and I never did find out what happened. I’d forgotten about the file – until today, when Tod Maffin posted this shot. (While Tod may be right – see the comments – about the need for some payphones, I never thought the need would amount to enough to support a viable business). It perfectly sums up my feelings about that business at the time.
(No doubt someone will now post a comment telling me that the business has been a smashing success.)