Dave McClure’s 500 Startups Chooses 33 Companies; Bets Big On International

Actually, tea can be a profitable business with the right niche.

I know several people that spend serious money on that (over here, Argentinean Ines Berton blends are the most sought after - http://www.tealosophy.com/eng/eng.html ).

Edit: It won't be Facebook-sized, but if the customer validation works (and they really know their stuff - much like with wine, premium tea drinkers can be picky), they might be on to something.

Personally, I worry about them losing the "experience" factor that one gets from going tea shopping.

These companies seem to solve very specific issues. It's possible they plan on building a sustainable business model before growing to tackle bigger challenges. Was Google a "big innovation" when it launched, or just another search engine? The world is 500 startups richer and there's nothing to be disappointed about.

Edit: A better example.. Amazon was just an online book store. Now I can't launch a website without getting them involved.

Edit2: I looked up Tealet and it seems like a well executed vision. Writing them off as a disappointment is a dick move. Where are your mind-blowing innovations?

Yes, we get a lot out of an incubator. We're funded by a Danish VC and our HQ is in Copenhagen, Denmark. By joining 500 Startups, we'll get a chance to build a network in Silicon Valley and meet mentors like Andrew Chen, Hiten Shah and of course Dave McClure. And just like the rest of the batch, it gives us a four month period of intense focus on product development.

BabyList is great!