> No way it would be an investment that would give investors a 10x return.
I think this kind of expectations ruin good business ideas.
A thing like Dinnr may have worked well if run for years, not just tested out for 18 months. It may have not produced a 10x return, but it may have been enough for four people to live on and, maybe, then expand to another city and have four other people live working at Dinnr 2.
This is probably another lesson: if your business isn't worth investing in for two years to look for growth, it's probably not worth investing for one either. Most real businesses start extremely small, and grow over a span of 3-5 years. Expecting a business to boom immediately is yet another symptom of misguided startup expectations.
I think this kind of expectations ruin good business ideas.
A thing like Dinnr may have worked well if run for years, not just tested out for 18 months. It may have not produced a 10x return, but it may have been enough for four people to live on and, maybe, then expand to another city and have four other people live working at Dinnr 2.