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OK, I'm hearing a lot about hardware there but not seeing where thousands of people are needed to keep it all up. Again, WhatsApp -- 50 employees.

by xienze 11y ago

philipjoubert 11y ago
Whatsapp is an outlier in many ways and comparing them with any company will make that company seem bloated. As for the comparison, Whatsapp has no monetization model, no marketing and a simpler product.
- Scoundreller 11y ago
  WhatsApp charges a subscription fee after the first year of $1/year. When you have several hundred million users, that adds up. An effective monetization model, if unusual in SV.
  - aetherson 11y ago
    But it actually doesn't charge that subscription fee. At least not to the overwhelming majority of its users.
    - marcusgarvey 11y ago
      I really do not understand what the logic is here. They already have your loyalty presumably, and it's not a high sticker price.
  - pmontra 11y ago
    They used to send me messages about that yearly few but they always ended up extending my membership for free every few months. Then they stopped asking. WhatsApp is de facto free.
yid 11y ago
In 2014, WhatsApp reportedly made $14 million in revenue. By comparison, Twitter made $479 in revenue in just Q4 2014. I think company size generally scales super-linearly with revenue, so a total staff in the thousands seems reasonable for a post-IPO company. Are you suggesting that WhatsApp's model of organization is the norm for a sustainable organization? I think it's a clear outlier in many respects.
- jsprogrammer 11y ago
  Does it really matter what WhatsApp made in revenue? The owners got a $16 BILLION payout. Are you suggesting that WhatsApps business model was based on annual revenue?
  - untog 11y ago
    > Does it really matter what WhatsApp made in revenue? The owners got a $16 BILLION payout. Silicon Valley mentality at its finest.
    - w1ntermute 11y ago
      > I don't want to make a little bit of money every day. I want to make a fuck ton of money all at once. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzAdXyPYKQo&t=15 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzAdXyPYKQo&t=15
    - jsprogrammer 11y ago
      What do you mean? This is just a fact. The company existed to make a return for the owners. The owners exited with $16 billion. That was the motivation of the owners/employees, not $14 million in annual revenue.
      - thomasfoster96 11y ago
        The $14 million is what justifies the $16 billion.

OK, I'm hearing a lot about hardware there but not seeing where thousands of people are needed to keep it all up. Again, WhatsApp -- 50 employees.

by xienze 11y ago

OK, I'm hearing a lot about hardware there but not seeing where thousands of people are needed to keep it all up. Again, WhatsApp -- 50 employees.

philipjoubert 11y ago

Whatsapp is an outlier in many ways and comparing them with any company will make that company seem bloated. As for the comparison, Whatsapp has no monetization model, no marketing and a simpler product.

Scoundreller 11y ago
WhatsApp charges a subscription fee after the first year of $1/year. When you have several hundred million users, that adds up. An effective monetization model, if unusual in SV.
- aetherson 11y ago
  But it actually doesn't charge that subscription fee. At least not to the overwhelming majority of its users.
  - marcusgarvey 11y ago
    I really do not understand what the logic is here. They already have your loyalty presumably, and it's not a high sticker price.
- pmontra 11y ago
  They used to send me messages about that yearly few but they always ended up extending my membership for free every few months. Then they stopped asking. WhatsApp is de facto free.

yid 11y ago

In 2014, WhatsApp reportedly made $14 million in revenue. By comparison, Twitter made $479 in revenue in just Q4 2014. I think company size generally scales super-linearly with revenue, so a total staff in the thousands seems reasonable for a post-IPO company. Are you suggesting that WhatsApp's model of organization is the norm for a sustainable organization? I think it's a clear outlier in many respects.

jsprogrammer 11y ago
Does it really matter what WhatsApp made in revenue? The owners got a $16 BILLION payout. Are you suggesting that WhatsApps business model was based on annual revenue?
- untog 11y ago
  > Does it really matter what WhatsApp made in revenue? The owners got a $16 BILLION payout. Silicon Valley mentality at its finest.
  - w1ntermute 11y ago
    > I don't want to make a little bit of money every day. I want to make a fuck ton of money all at once. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzAdXyPYKQo&t=15 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzAdXyPYKQo&t=15
  - jsprogrammer 11y ago
    What do you mean? This is just a fact. The company existed to make a return for the owners. The owners exited with $16 billion. That was the motivation of the owners/employees, not $14 million in annual revenue.
    - thomasfoster96 11y ago
      The $14 million is what justifies the $16 billion.