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Incredibly impressive revenue, but really, $389.6MM loss on $713MM revenue? Perhaps I'm missing something, but I don't get why it's being hyped up so highly.
by daeken 15y ago
Incredibly impressive revenue, but really, $389.6MM loss on $713MM revenue? Perhaps I'm missing something, but I don't get why it's being hyped up so highly.
- whakojacko 15y agoPresumably because, like many a previous startup, revenue growth is fantastic. I agree with the HN consensus though-they have no real way of differentiating themselves from LivingSocial et all, so they will continue to have to pump lots of money into marketing ($208m in Q1!!), sales teams, etc and watch their margins go down over time.
- rorrr 15y agoThat's some pretty insane expenses. What are they wasting money on? EDIT: 1) Ad spend: $200+ million 2) 7000+ employees (at $40K average per employee, that's $280M/year)
- MatthewPhillips 15y agoSalary, to convince businesses to work with them on their extreme terms.
- daniel-cussen 15y agoSome startups (notably Amazon) use the money they raise to outrun competitors by subsidizing the product. Then, when they have the network tied up, they start making a large profit.