> Doesn't matter what they're called. It absolutely does matter. Important terms need to be well-defined before you can have any sort of intelligent conversati

> Doesn't matter what they're called. It absolutely does matter. Important terms need to be well-defined before you can have any sort of intelligent conversation about them. This is a rule in academic research for a reason, it clears up a lot of unnecessary confusion and vitriol. Reframe this post as a bank talking to a small business owner about not taking on too much liability without proving a concept and it comes off as simple, sensible advice. > in most cases profitability is not orthogonal to growth It absolutely is. The longer you can offer a service for free, or for cost below margin, the more users you can attract to your business. It's pretty simple economics - build a nice free garden, let people play in it and invite their friends, get investments to pay your operating costs while improving the garden, keeping it open and free, then close it off and advertise once your ecosystem is strong enough to prevent substantial churn. This is not to say that all companies follow this path, but high growth companies certainly tend to, as it gives them a huge monopolistic advantage by putting profitability off into the future.