Once a upon a time, a couple of mates had an idea for a mobile company. ÏHey, wouldnÌt it be cool if you were shopping and you could use your mobile and the barcode to find out if the book/CD etc was cheaper on lineÓ they said.
They quickly mocked up a demo (in those days the user had to enter the Universal Product Code) and raised a couple of million in VC funding Ò no, this really isnÌt a fairy story, VCÌs did used to invest in good ideas 
Sadly, Scan went under a couple of years ago, having gone through the inevitable ÏErr, this B2C stuff is slow to take off, letÌs try B2B and then shut down!Ó.
And proving that thereÌs few truly original ideas, two companies (one spookily called Scanbuy) launch the same thing, according to The Feature.
“Scanbuy and Neomedia have both proposed using barcodes for comparison shopping and other applications. To use these applications, users snap a picture of a barcode with a cameraphone, and send the data to Scanbuy or Neomedia, who then return the price or URL or other data.”
I wondered if they knew about Scan? And if theyÌve talked to Jon or Robert, the ex-Scan guys. YouÌd like to think so.
One of my pet theories is that business success is mostly about timing. Catch the wave and an indifferent idea and poor management can make a lot of money. Get the timing wrong and the best team in the world will flounder. I think Scan IÌs problem was mainly timing, so maybe the new guys can make it happen this time around.
That doesnÌt mean to say that they shouldnÌt be picking the brains of the giants whose shoulders they could be standing on.
I’ll put them in touch methinks. My good deed for the week.
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