Juicero had Wi-Fi. Venture capital. Sleek design. And absolutely no reason to exist.

We unpack how Juicero raised around $120 million to build a $399 juicer that only worked with proprietary juice pouches and stopped functioning if your internet went down. A machine so over-engineered it managed to forget the most important part: usefulness.

Then came the moment that ended it all. A 2017 investigation by Bloomberg revealed you could squeeze the juice packs by hand and get the same result. No Wi-Fi. No machine. No nonsense.

We talk about why this wasn’t just a product failure, but a validation failure. How clever tech, investor excitement, and buzz can overpower basic common sense. And why expensive innovation without real-world practicality is a fast track to embarrassment.

Along the way, we nod to other infamous flops like the Amazon Fire Phone, Segway, and Crystal Pepsi, all brilliant ideas on paper that forgot to ask one simple question: does anyone actually need this?

A cautionary tale about hype, hardware, and what happens when innovation solves a problem that doesn’t exist.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.