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> When I asked Dominique Delport, the chief revenue officer, whether the company was profitable, he declined to say and suggested that dollar figures were the w

> When I asked Dominique Delport, the chief revenue officer, whether the company was profitable, he declined to say and suggested that dollar figures were the wrong way to think about Vice. “The company profit is to everybody who watches Vice, because they feel smarter,” he said. Investors should run away as quickly as possible. If that quote from the Chief Revenue Officer isn't a red flag, I don't know what is.

lainga 8y ago
What do you mean? That's the way journalism works. "Don't think about salaries or dollar figures, think about the exposure you'll be getting!"
class4behavior 8y ago
You're equating a conversation with a journalist (=the public) with one with an investor, though.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
godzillabrennus 8y ago
It took Twitter 10 years to turn a profit: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/02/08/twitter-turns-profit-but-problems-remain/318744002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/02/08/twitter-... To suggest that an investor can't earn a profit by putting cash into a business with a burn rate is as sophomoric as believing you can run a business on investor money without ever turning a profit.
- geezerjay 8y ago
  > It took Twitter 10 years to turn a profit: So a company took 10 years of burning through cash until a moment it didn't. Is that supposed to mean it was a sound investment?
  - godzillabrennus 8y ago
    http://fortune.com/2013/10/16/twitters-huge-payday-for-early-investors/ http://fortune.com/2013/10/16/twitters-huge-payday-for-early... Seems like it worked out great for the early investors.
  - nl 8y ago
    It doesn't mean that it is, but it can be. In Twitter's case it was.
- gringoDan 8y ago
  I wasn’t suggesting that a business needs to be profitable from day one. I was suggesting that the Chief Revenue Officer should measure revenue & profitability in dollars and cents, rather than in the number of people that “feel smarter”. He could have talked about revenue growth, investing in expansion, CAC decreasing at scale, etc. There are many ways to approach this question that demonstrate a quantitative grasp of the business and inspire confidence. His answer was not one of them.
  - fenomas 8y ago
    In the quote you pulled he was talking to the press, right? That's no reason to assume he gives the same answer to investors, or more generally that he has no other answers to give.
  - ggg9990 8y ago
    That would be off-brand. Most executives speak very demurely to the public about their interest in making money.
- bogomipz 8y ago
  >"It took Twitter 10 years to turn a profit" Twitter and Vice Media(as opposed to just the magazine) both have origins of 2006. From the article: >"In 2006, Vice started Virtue, a cheekily named ad agency that allowed the magazine to deploy its creative talents on behalf of brands. A year later, Vice became one of the first digital-media outlets to get into online video with vbs.tv, a digital-video site funded with a $2 million investment from Viacom."
  - okayNotReally 8y ago
    Vice has been around since the mid 90's. It started as the Montreal Voice.
    - bogomipz 8y ago
      Yes which is why I clearly stated - "Vice Media(as opposed to just the magazine)"
- pllbnk 8y ago
  The economy is at its height now, so it's not that surprising. We don't know if Twitter survives the next low.
deleted 8y ago
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partiallypro 8y ago
Elon Musk recently said profit isn't what drives his company, which isn't much different than what the CRO was saying here.
- workinthehead 8y ago
  Everybody says that. Especially when they aren't doing so good at profit.
randycupertino 8y ago
Lol... this is the CRO response of basically saying, "oh yeah? Well we're cool and you're not!" Unlike those rich boring financial nerd companies who turn profit, we increase the feeling of cool intangible things.
acct1771 8y ago
The mistake you're making is assuming people who control media outlets always care about money. Money just retains control of the industry on the long-term. It's all about the power, and influence. Murdoch isn't invested in Vice for shits.

lainga 8y ago

What do you mean? That's the way journalism works. "Don't think about salaries or dollar figures, think about the exposure you'll be getting!"

class4behavior 8y ago

You're equating a conversation with a journalist (=the public) with one with an investor, though.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

godzillabrennus 8y ago

It took Twitter 10 years to turn a profit: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/02/08/twitter-turns-profit-but-problems-remain/318744002/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/02/08/twitter-... To suggest that an investor can't earn a profit by putting cash into a business with a burn rate is as sophomoric as believing you can run a business on investor money without ever turning a profit.

geezerjay 8y ago
> It took Twitter 10 years to turn a profit: So a company took 10 years of burning through cash until a moment it didn't. Is that supposed to mean it was a sound investment?
- godzillabrennus 8y ago
  http://fortune.com/2013/10/16/twitters-huge-payday-for-early-investors/ http://fortune.com/2013/10/16/twitters-huge-payday-for-early... Seems like it worked out great for the early investors.
- nl 8y ago
  It doesn't mean that it is, but it can be. In Twitter's case it was.
gringoDan 8y ago
I wasn’t suggesting that a business needs to be profitable from day one. I was suggesting that the Chief Revenue Officer should measure revenue & profitability in dollars and cents, rather than in the number of people that “feel smarter”. He could have talked about revenue growth, investing in expansion, CAC decreasing at scale, etc. There are many ways to approach this question that demonstrate a quantitative grasp of the business and inspire confidence. His answer was not one of them.
- fenomas 8y ago
  In the quote you pulled he was talking to the press, right? That's no reason to assume he gives the same answer to investors, or more generally that he has no other answers to give.
- ggg9990 8y ago
  That would be off-brand. Most executives speak very demurely to the public about their interest in making money.
bogomipz 8y ago
>"It took Twitter 10 years to turn a profit" Twitter and Vice Media(as opposed to just the magazine) both have origins of 2006. From the article: >"In 2006, Vice started Virtue, a cheekily named ad agency that allowed the magazine to deploy its creative talents on behalf of brands. A year later, Vice became one of the first digital-media outlets to get into online video with vbs.tv, a digital-video site funded with a $2 million investment from Viacom."
- okayNotReally 8y ago
  Vice has been around since the mid 90's. It started as the Montreal Voice.
  - bogomipz 8y ago
    Yes which is why I clearly stated - "Vice Media(as opposed to just the magazine)"
pllbnk 8y ago
The economy is at its height now, so it's not that surprising. We don't know if Twitter survives the next low.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

partiallypro 8y ago

Elon Musk recently said profit isn't what drives his company, which isn't much different than what the CRO was saying here.

workinthehead 8y ago
Everybody says that. Especially when they aren't doing so good at profit.

randycupertino 8y ago

Lol... this is the CRO response of basically saying, "oh yeah? Well we're cool and you're not!" Unlike those rich boring financial nerd companies who turn profit, we increase the feeling of cool intangible things.

acct1771 8y ago

The mistake you're making is assuming people who control media outlets always care about money. Money just retains control of the industry on the long-term. It's all about the power, and influence. Murdoch isn't invested in Vice for shits.