4 ms·
I think the idea is that, since RH hasn't been acquired or gone public, they haven't yet "ended up" with a high valuation. It could all go away before the inves
by sib 8y ago
I think the idea is that, since RH hasn't been acquired or gone public, they haven't yet "ended up" with a high valuation. It could all go away before the investors can get liquid (e.g., Theranos for a pathological example).
- JumpCrisscross 8y agoThere are deep secondary markets around late-stage venture-backed companies. Robinhood investors seeking to exit around this valuation have options.
- ryguytilidie 8y agoJust to clarify, we're debating whether Robinhood is a success and the measure of success being used is "can early investors cash out for a gain?" What if every company checked that box and couldn't provide lasting value beyond that? Do we still consider this a success because we're posting on a forum run by a VC?
- JumpCrisscross 8y ago> What if every company checked that box and couldn't provide lasting value beyond that? That would mean an overheated late-stage market. (Which recent IPO data haven’t yet made obvious is a thing.)
- argonaut 8y agoIgnoring any one specific company for a moment, an investor consistently able to invest early and time their exits near the peak of each company's valuation would be a roaring success.
- ryguytilidie 8y agoThat's my point. We're saying that Robinhood is a success as a company because an early investor would have had a nice exit? Thats our "success" barometer? I'm going to call BS on that one.
- sokoloff 8y ago> What if every company checked that box and couldn't provide lasting value beyond that? How long do you think that would be a sustainable situation? A high mid to late-private stage valuation is only supported by the promise of subsequent valuations. If every company stopped achieving those subsequent valuations, it would feed back into the private valuations.