The guy behind $US118.5 million ($152 million) company Juicero, which catastrophically shut down after it was revealed that their eponymous line of $US399 ($510) cold-pressed raw juice machines were actually just glorified bag-squeezers, is on to new things!
Doug Evans.Screenshot: Vice News Tonight/HBO Go
Per Vice News Tonight (HBO subscription required), Juicero founder Doug Evans is continuing to get really into raw water, untreated spring water backers say has vaguely defined probiotic properties and doctors say could potentially be filled with pathogens and dangerous chemicals such as carcinogens. Evans, accompanied by a man identified as a firedancer, told Vice reporter Will Turton that the implosion of Juicero was awful. But he added that he remains committed to his vegan lifestyle, is entertaining a number of possible executive and board positions at other companies, and in the meantime is travelling and “expanding my consciousness”.
“There are things, like, certain dreams I had were shattered,” Evans told Vice. “But my destiny may not be tied to my dreams.”
Explaining that new technologies start off expensive, Evans added, “I think that Juicero was killed in the first inning … and normally a baseball game is nine innings. This was killed in the first inning. People were very enthusiastic. They saw the idea of making fresh juice readily available either in the home, or offices, or stadiums and theatres.”
“I mean we had the best investors in the world,” Evans continued. “We had Google Ventures, we had Kleiner Perkins, we had Campbell’s Soup.”
OK.
However, when Turton asked Evans what exactly the media narrative about his former company missed, the former CEO got a little testy:
Doug Evans is the founder of Juicero, a $700 wi-fi connected juicer, and he wants to set the record straight. We met him as he harvests his new obsession: “raw water.”
See it on VICE News Tonight, 7:30 ET on @HBO pic.twitter.com/z9B7qwY6ij
— VICE News (@vicenews) March 7, 2018
“What do you think the media got wrong about Juicero?” Turton asked.
“Everything,” Evans responded. “They just had no clue.”
“Tell me more,” Turton continued.
“I mean, I, it’s not even worth my breath,” Evans shot back. “I’m done. I’m not gonna talk about it.”
“What did they misunderstand?” Turton asked a final time.
“Everything,” Evans concluded. “William, William, I’m done, next … We’re done with Juicero … No more Juicero. I’m gonna count to three, and I’m gonna walk away.”
(Notably, some ex-staff described Evans to Gizmodo as a micromanaging bully and office dictator who caused massive talent turnover and, at one point, refused to kill flies that had infested the office on ethical grounds. They also described a supply chain that delivered juice packs significantly less fresh than advertised and marketed with dubious scientific research. But that’s all raw water under the bridge now, so to speak.)
Anyhow, best of luck to Evans in all his future endeavours selling various expensive liquids to people.