Your missing the point, your not learning the lesson, you forget the importance of product development, why didn't your idea catch on? Why might Caterina's version succeed why yours didn't? I don't think it's just publicity.
Instead of developing something, waiting 3 months to see how it goes & then putting it in the closet because it wasn't popular enough, iterate. Why didn't it took of? What should you change, who are your customers, how can you get them to use the product? If your customers don't use the product, why don't they use it?
I bet Caterina is busy asking all these questions and iterating her product. If it succeeds, then I think that's the reason why it succeeds an not because she's a "celeb". There is a difference between the experience from a guy in a coffeeshop and the co-founder of Flickr & Hunch..
Instead of developing something, waiting 3 months to see how it goes & then putting it in the closet because it wasn't popular enough, iterate. Why didn't it took of? What should you change, who are your customers, how can you get them to use the product? If your customers don't use the product, why don't they use it?
I bet Caterina is busy asking all these questions and iterating her product. If it succeeds, then I think that's the reason why it succeeds an not because she's a "celeb". There is a difference between the experience from a guy in a coffeeshop and the co-founder of Flickr & Hunch..