That Time We Almost Invented Seamless

The world could have been our oyster.

Paul Greenberg
2 min readJul 22, 2022

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C.J. Burton courtesy of Getty Images

Greece. The Island of Sifnos. September 1990. Five recent college graduates and one former member of the British gentry sit in a daze around an outdoor table, shaded from the blazing late fall sun by a withering grape vine. In front of us a pile of napkins soiled by humus and tzadziki. Hands are wrung as all consider an imminent return to the United States and the prospect of either waiting tables or temping.

That’s when the IDEA was born.

Rich and Lazy. That says it all. They can’t be bothered with the takeout menus. And why should they be?

“The thing is,” David began, “rich people don’t want to go through all those take out menus in their drawers.”

“Yes,” echoed Jeanne, a woman who knew well the ways of wealth. “They can’t be bothered.”

“They’re very lazy,” her daughter Cusi added.

Yes, we all agreed. The rich are very lazy. And so, what about a company called “Rich and Lazy”?

“That’s exactly right,” David continued. “Rich and Lazy. That says it all. They can’t be bothered with the takeout menus. And why should they be? No, that’s why they need us. Imagine a single phone…

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Paul Greenberg

New York Times bestselling author of Four Fish as well as The Climate Diet and Goodbye Phone, Hello World paulgreenberg.org