Scott Alldridge – Hot Coffee, Cold Reality: The $10,000 Drone Delivery Mistake

BIO: Scott Alldridge is CEO of IP Services and President of the IT Process Institute, a bestselling author of the VisibleOps series, and a Certified Chief Information Security Officer.

STORY: Scott’s worst investment was a stake in a startup promising to deliver hot coffee by drone. Excited by the futuristic idea, he invested before the concept was proven—but the project quickly crashed when the FAA banned drone deliveries and a prototype failed spectacularly.

LEARNING: Being first doesn’t always mean being right. Due diligence is non-negotiable.

 

“You don’t have to jump in. Being the first with the most doesn’t matter if it’s a bad idea—you’ll lose money anyway.”

Scott Alldridge

 

Guest profile

Scott Alldridge is CEO of IP Services and President of the IT Process Institute, a bestselling author of the VisibleOps series, and a Certified Chief Information Security Officer. He holds an MBA in cybersecurity and has over 30 years of experience in IT and cybersecurity leadership. Scott empowers organizations to achieve resilience through process excellence, Zero Trust, and AI-driven security.

Worst investment ever

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, coffee isn’t just a drink; it’s a way of life. Seattle is home to Starbucks, and in Oregon, coffee culture runs deep. So when Scott was pitched an idea that combined coffee and technology—delivering hot coffee via drone—he couldn’t resist.

The concept sounded revolutionary: push a button on your phone, and a drone drops off your piping-hot Americano right at your doorstep. It felt like the future—part Amazon innovation, part TED Talk dream.

Excited, Scott invested for a 3% stake in the startup. The founders promised a caffeinated empire built on convenience and cutting-edge tech.

But just three months later, the buzz wore off. The FAA issued a cease-and-desist order on all drone delivery experiments, particularly those involving liquids.

And then came the final straw: the company’s prototype drone spilled an entire cup of hot coffee mid-flight, grounding both the drone and Scott’s hopes. The “coffee drone revolution” turned into a $10,000 lesson in wishful thinking. Delivering hot coffee by drone was never going to fly—literally.

Lessons learned

• Being first doesn’t always mean being right.
• It’s tempting to jump into the next big idea, especially when it sounds exciting and visionary. However, early-stage innovation carries significant risk, especially when the concept hasn’t been tested or proven.
• Enthusiasm can cloud judgment. Instead of investing based on a slick pitch deck or futuristic concept, it’s smarter to wait until an idea is validated, tested, and compliant with regulations.

Andrew’s takeaways

• Every idea looks brilliant until reality—and regulation—show up.
• Even in large corporations, where top analysts and executives lead multi-million-dollar mergers, success isn’t guaranteed. Only about 20% of them added value within three to five years.
• Business is hard, and due diligence is non-negotiable.

Actionable advice

Always do your due diligence. Before investing in any idea—no matter how exciting—slow down and dig deep:

• Validate the concept. Is there a working prototype, or just a fancy pitch?
• Check the regulations, especially if the business operates...