From UberEats to emojis: People candidly reveal the apps and ideas they thought were ‘STUPID’ – until they changed the world
- In a post on Threads, users shared the startup ideas they initially rejected
- These include UberEats, emojis and iPods β just to name a few
- It quickly became flooded with people sharing their own brushes with app success
There’s nothing worse than being haunted by the ghost of past ideas – and some people have shared their biggest moments of regret after turning their backs on start-up successes.
In a post in discussions, user Amber Adrian posted an apology to an app developer she dated in 2009 who came up with the idea for emojis – which she laughed about.
βOne day he showed me something he made: a way to text people little pictures,β she wrote on the Thread.
‘He was scrolling through a series of mini-graphs on his phone and said, “Look, you can send someone a fried egg.” I thought to myself, “Why on earth would I want to send someone a fried egg?”
There’s nothing worse than being haunted by the ghost of past ideas – and some people have shared their biggest moments of regret after turning their backs on start-ups (stock image)
In a post to threads, user Amber Adrian posted an apology to an app developer she dated in 2009 who came up with the idea for emojis β which she laughed about
“Ten years later I realized that this guy had basically invented emojis, which now makes me happy to my core,” she admitted. “I’m sorry I doubted your fried eggs.”
The Thread led to dozens of other people then sharing their own brushes with app or business success.
“I had exactly one date in 1994/95 with a guy who said, ‘I’m working on something called the World Wide Web. You’ll be hearing a lot about it soon,'” one user laughed.
‘Reminds me of when I used my 2002/2003 Christmas bonus to buy the very first iPod and the guy I was with at the time told me I was ‘stupid’ and it was just a ‘fad’, lol ‘ someone else chimed in.
“Don’t worry, it ended shortly after,” they added.
“I still cry every time I look at my prototype for InstaCart and will never continue with it in 2004 simply because I let a few no’s lead me astray,” another lamented.
Some people were about to help someone else reach the great app.
‘I was dating a guy in 2012 who was developing an app (I thought it was stupid) and I said, “Why don’t you go to Uber and convince them to use their logistics to get drivers to deliver food?” between rates?β, they explained. .
The Thread led to dozens of other people then sharing their own brushes with app or business success
‘He laughed at me. His app didn’t go anywhere. UberEats exists. Who is laughing now?’ they joked.
‘That reminds me of when I was working in an AR/VR lab around 2000 and was looking for small cameras for a project. I kept coming across great examples of what were then very small cameras.
‘I asked the rep why there were so many options available and he said “we’re going to put them in every mobile phone” and I thought “that’s never going to happen!” ‘
Others consoled those still pining over the passing on of a now-successful business.
βDon’t worry, there’s a Fox Executive who signed the merchandise rights over to George Lucas because he didn’t think that ‘little space movie’ would make back its budget. It happens,β they wrote.