I Hate Wallets: An Open Call to Entrepreneurs

As my 57th birthday passes, I find myself adding three more wallets to a collection that I will never, ever use.

Why? It’s simple: I hate wallets.

In all my years in business, traveling, and networking, I have never seen a single wallet that is sufficient for the sheer volume of credit cards, membership cards, business cards, and cash that I typically need to carry. You would think that with all the innovation we see in the consumer goods space, someone would have perfected this everyday item. Yet, the only adequate storage device I have found to date is the humble rubber band.

So, the quality of my daily "wallet" is entirely defined by the latest and strongest rubber band I happen to have found. I have used standard Office Depot rubber bands. I have used the thick, sturdy bands that hold broccoli together at the grocery store. I have even resorted to hair ties and every other type of elastic you can imagine. They certainly vary in quality, but at the end of the day, they remain the best solution to a problem the market has yet to solve.

Inevitably, during this next birthday cycle, the same sequence of events will play out. I will be at a lunch or a meeting, pull out my rubber band "wallet" to pay the bill, and some poor soul around me will see it. They will assume I simply haven't considered other storage options. A lightbulb will go off in their head, and they’ll have what they think is a completely unique idea: "I am going to buy Dale a wallet."

Little do they know, this happens all the time. Wallets are, without a doubt, the most common gift I receive. I believe I currently have roughly 300+ wallets sitting in drawers, boxes, and bags. I don don’t have the heart to throw them away, so I end up re-gifting them over time, effectively making them someone else’s problem.

But looking at this from an investor and business perspective, it begs a serious question: Why on earth hasn’t anyone come up with a genuinely good solution for a wallet yet?

We see startups disrupting massive, entrenched industries every day. Apple was close with their digital wallet and MagSafe accessories, but I still think there is a better, tangible answer out there for those of us who still operate in the physical world of cash and cards.

This is exactly the kind of everyday friction that builds great companies. Ideas come and go, but solving a universal pain point with careful execution is what creates a highly scalable, economically viable business.

So, entrepreneurs, unite! There has to be a better answer out there. The market is waiting, and I, for one, am ready to finally retire the broccoli band. Who is going to build it?