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Is Starbucks the last coffee shop in the world to offer free wi-fi? Probably not, but they are certainly very late to the game. Thus, it is hard to call them a marketing & sales innovator, in spite of their careful store designs, mood music choices and counter up sells.
A number of my fellow Bloggers are now calling Starbucks the place for start-ups. Matt Shapiro, CEO of Tooble, went so far as to suggest they change their name to "Startbucks". A bit extreme in my mind, but the tactic will certainly attract more customers to 'bucks to slurp those five dollar fru-fru drinks.
Rants aside, providing cheap places for startups is a better stimulus expenditure than repaving back roads. Starbucks should be applauded for encouraging innovation and helping people either find jobs or start companies in these tough economic times.
A VC in Vacationland 
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