Spinning out DeskBeers

A talk given at Monki Gras 2016

Transcript

1. SPINNING OUT
   

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2. SPINNING OUT
   

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3. DESKBEERS BEGAN AS A 

   SIDE-PROJECT OF MINT
   BACK IN NOV. 2013
   

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4. SIMPLE PREMISE:
   DELIVER CRAFT BEER
   TO OFFICES.
   

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5. AFTER A LITTLE OVER
   A YEAR, WE DECIDED
   WE HAD A VIABLE
   BUSINESS.
   

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6. MVP BUILT AND PROVEN.
   

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7. 100+ CUSTOMERS.
   

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8. NON-TRIVIAL REVENUE.
   

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9. CLEAR ROADMAP.
   

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10. GRAND AMBITION.
    

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11. WE DECIDED TO
    “SPIN OUT”.
    

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12. IN MARCH 2015, WE
    COMPLETED A SEED
    ROUND VIA
    CROWDFUNDING.
    

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13. DESKBEERS THE SIDE
    PROJECT BECAME
    DESKBEERS LTD.
    

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14. SO FAR SO GOOD.
    WHAT NEXT?
    

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15. A FINITE AMOUNT OF
    CASH IN THE BANK.
    

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16. 2 FULL-TIME
    EMPLOYEES.
    

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17. OPERATION: DON’T
    GO BROKE.
    

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18. USE COMPUTERS TO
    DO THINGS.
    

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19. HOW DO WE MAKE
    SURE WE GET IT
    RIGHT?
    

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20. DO THE WORK.
    

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21. SPOT THE PATTERN.
    

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22. WRITE THE CODE.
    

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23. AN EXAMPLE:
    

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24. EVERY WEEK WE BUY
    BEER FOR THE
    FOLLOWING WEEK.
    

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25. DIFFERENT BREWERIES.
    

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26. DIFFERENT QUANTITIES.
    

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27. THINGS DON’T ALWAYS
    GO ACCORDING TO
    PLAN.
    

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28. WHEN WE DON'T HAVE
    ENOUGH OF THIS
    WEEK’S BEER…
    

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29. …IF WE’VE GOT ANY
    BEER IN STOCK, SEND
    THAT TO NEW
    CUSTOMERS FIRST…
    

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30. …AND / OR SEND
    EXISTING CUSTOMERS
    NEXT WEEK’S BEER.
    

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31. EVERY WEEK WE DEAL
    WITH SOME VERSION
    OF THIS.
    

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32. CAN GENERALLY BE
    SOLVED IN THE SAME
    WAY.
    

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33. POTENTIAL BOXES =
    BOXES IN STOCK -
    CUSTOMER’S HISTORY
    

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34. THIS IS A FORMULA…
    

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35. …THAT CAN BE
    WRITTEN DOWN AS
    CODE…
    

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36. …AND RUN
    AUTOMATICALLY.
    

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37. “FOR EACH DESIRED
    CHANGE, MAKE THE
    CHANGE EASY (WARNING:
    THIS MAY BE HARD),
    THEN MAKE THE EASY
    CHANGE” - @KENTBECK
    

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38. WE NEED:
    

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39. THE CONCEPT OF A
    “BOX”…
    

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40. …THAT CAN BE
    APPLIED TO AN
    ORDER…
    

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41. …THAT KNOWS ABOUT
    THE BEERS INSIDE IT…
    

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42. …HOW MANY ARE IN
    STOCK…
    

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43. …AND HOW LONG
    WE’VE HAD THEM.
    

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44. potential_boxes = (boxes_in_stock - customer_history)
    chosen = potential_boxes.reject do |c|
    c.quantity < @order.box_count
    end.first
    if chosen.present?
    @order.update_attribute(:box, chosen)
    chosen.decrement_quantity(@order.box_count)
    end
    

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45. CREATING BOXES,
    STOCK MANAGEMENT
    & A BEER CMS WAS
    NOT SO EASY.
    

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46. CREATING A BOX-
    PICKING ALGORITHM
    AFTERWARDS WAS
    EASY.
    

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47. IN ORDER TO “MAKE
    THE CHANGE EASY”
    WE HAD TO REALLY
    UNDERSTAND THE
    PROBLEM.
    

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48. AND FIND A LEVEL OF
    ABSTRACTION WE ARE
    CONFIDENT MAKES
    SENSE.
    

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49. THE WRONG
    ABSTRACTION IS FAR
    MORE DAMAGING
    THAN NO
    ABSTRACTION AT ALL.
    - @SANDIMETZ
    

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50. NOW WE HAVE A
    SIMPLE, EXTENDABLE,
    ROBUST SYSTEM FOR
    FUTURE
    DEVELOPMENT.
    

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51. PREFERENCES,
    RATINGS, MACHINE
    LEARNING? AI?
    

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52. DO THE WORK
    

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53. SPOT THE PATTERN
    

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54. WRITE THE CODE
    

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55. AUTOMATING THINGS
    IS OUR JOB.
    

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56. THAT IS WHAT MAKES
    DESKBEERS A VIABLE
    BUSINESS…
    

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57. …PROVIDE EXCELLENT
    CUSTOMER SERVICE…
    

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58. …FIND F$*?ING GREAT
    BEER…
    

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59. …DEVELOP NEW
    FEATURES…
    

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60. …ACQUIRE NEW
    CUSTOMERS.
    

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61. WHAT ELSE CAN WE
    AUTOMATE?
    

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62. BOOKING DELIVERIES.
    

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63. NOTIFYING CUSTOMERS.
    

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64. ORDERING SUPPLIES.
    

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65. ANYTHING ELSE WE
    SPEND TIME DOING.
    

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66. DO THE WORK
    

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67. SPOT THE PATTERN
    

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68. WRITE THE CODE
    

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69. CHEERS
    

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70. @RODREEGEZ
    

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