5 ms·

Looking into the linked data,[1] it looks like a lot of these "unicorns" are blockchain technology companies. I might be biased here as a shitcoin sceptic, but

Looking into the linked data,[1] it looks like a lot of these "unicorns" are blockchain technology companies. I might be biased here as a shitcoin sceptic, but I would love to see in 10 years what happened to these "unicorns" [1] https://app.dealroom.co/unicorns/f/slug_locations/anyof_europe/tags/allof_verified%20unicorns%20and%20%241b%20exits/year_became_unicorn_min/anyof_2021 https://app.dealroom.co/unicorns/f/slug_locations/anyof_euro...

yorwba 5y ago
Actually, only 5 of the 72 have "blockchain" listed in the description, but 28 are fintech companies.
josefx 5y ago
Given that a steady stream of VC money could keep Uber running since 2009 I wouldn't bet on those 10 years.
- fredestine 5y ago
  uber has a product doing something that changed the way people commute. blockchain is a ponzi.
- eldaisfish 5y ago
  One could argue that Uber provide a useful service - one that may not be profitable but that is definitely useful. What use - and to whom - are the array of shitcoins?
  - notfromhere 5y ago
    That’s definitely not the story they sold investors
bodge5000 5y ago
how many of the unicorns out of SV are actually viable businesses that will gain genuine traction 10 years from now? I suspect not a whole lot
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- shalmanese 5y ago
  This is a testable proposition. We can look at the list of billion dollar startups from 10 years ago (all 11 of them) and see how they fared since: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleperlroth/2011/06/02/the-billion-dollar-startup-club-then-and-now/?sh=574837c02fae https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleperlroth/2011/06/02/the-b... Kayak, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bloom Energy and Integra Telecom (Electric Lightwave) are still doing well, Groupon and Zynga are significantly diminished and Living Social, Gilt Group and Better Place are dead. So the answer appears to be 50/50 and social commerce was a huge fad.
  - Sanguinaire 5y ago
    A billion dollars today and a billion 10 years ago are not the same thing. It's not just a question of inflation either; there is more money sloshing around in VC (or similar non-retail funding sources) than ever.
    - pphysch 5y ago
      This is important. Current QE policy is over $100B/month. Lots and lots of free money floating around.
- cde-v 5y ago
  0 as soon as the law catches up and fixes the loopholes that are the basis for what seems like the majority of startups these days.
api 5y ago
Look at other forms of dodgy fintech, like some hedge funds. There seems to be an infinite amount of money available to move money so you can move money. I increasingly feel like a total sucker for trying to do useful work. I could get rich by moving money around and accomplishing nothing but here I am trying to actually create useful things.
- ur-whale 5y ago
  Yeah, but you'd be shirking your social responsibility to create value ... if everyone was to do the same, how would the parasites survive? /s
kitd 5y ago
Statutory "blockchain != bitcoin" comment.
patrickaljord 5y ago
Many so called "shitcoins" generate more revenue, get more transactions and offer more utility (loans, market makers etc) than your beloved bitcoin, so let's be humble. https://cryptofees.info/ https://cryptofees.info/
- acatton 5y ago
  Who said I loved bitcoin? I'm a crypto sceptic.
  - splintercell 5y ago
    You used the term ‘shitcoin’, which is commonly used pejorative term by bitcoiners against anything that isn’t bitcoin.
    - arcturus17 5y ago
      It’s also used by the rest of us to describe anything that isn’t bitcoin, our skepticism of bitcoin notwithstanding.
- bryanrasmussen 5y ago
  I believe shitcoin was a play on bitcoin, and not suggesting that normal coinage was shitcoin in comparison to bitcoin.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
biznickman 5y ago
I think what you meant to say is I'll be curious to see what happens to "America". We're behind the ball on crypto companies due to the regulatory environment. Here's hoping that changes but lots of crypto people are offshore at the moment. Yes, there are shitcoins but there are real things being built as well.

yorwba 5y ago

Actually, only 5 of the 72 have "blockchain" listed in the description, but 28 are fintech companies.

josefx 5y ago

Given that a steady stream of VC money could keep Uber running since 2009 I wouldn't bet on those 10 years.

fredestine 5y ago
uber has a product doing something that changed the way people commute. blockchain is a ponzi.
eldaisfish 5y ago
One could argue that Uber provide a useful service - one that may not be profitable but that is definitely useful. What use - and to whom - are the array of shitcoins?
- notfromhere 5y ago
  That’s definitely not the story they sold investors

bodge5000 5y ago

how many of the unicorns out of SV are actually viable businesses that will gain genuine traction 10 years from now? I suspect not a whole lot

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
shalmanese 5y ago
This is a testable proposition. We can look at the list of billion dollar startups from 10 years ago (all 11 of them) and see how they fared since: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleperlroth/2011/06/02/the-billion-dollar-startup-club-then-and-now/?sh=574837c02fae https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicoleperlroth/2011/06/02/the-b... Kayak, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bloom Energy and Integra Telecom (Electric Lightwave) are still doing well, Groupon and Zynga are significantly diminished and Living Social, Gilt Group and Better Place are dead. So the answer appears to be 50/50 and social commerce was a huge fad.
- Sanguinaire 5y ago
  A billion dollars today and a billion 10 years ago are not the same thing. It's not just a question of inflation either; there is more money sloshing around in VC (or similar non-retail funding sources) than ever.
  - pphysch 5y ago
    This is important. Current QE policy is over $100B/month. Lots and lots of free money floating around.
cde-v 5y ago
0 as soon as the law catches up and fixes the loopholes that are the basis for what seems like the majority of startups these days.

api 5y ago

Look at other forms of dodgy fintech, like some hedge funds. There seems to be an infinite amount of money available to move money so you can move money. I increasingly feel like a total sucker for trying to do useful work. I could get rich by moving money around and accomplishing nothing but here I am trying to actually create useful things.

ur-whale 5y ago
Yeah, but you'd be shirking your social responsibility to create value ... if everyone was to do the same, how would the parasites survive? /s

kitd 5y ago

Statutory "blockchain != bitcoin" comment.

patrickaljord 5y ago

Many so called "shitcoins" generate more revenue, get more transactions and offer more utility (loans, market makers etc) than your beloved bitcoin, so let's be humble. https://cryptofees.info/ https://cryptofees.info/

acatton 5y ago
Who said I loved bitcoin? I'm a crypto sceptic.
- splintercell 5y ago
  You used the term ‘shitcoin’, which is commonly used pejorative term by bitcoiners against anything that isn’t bitcoin.
  - arcturus17 5y ago
    It’s also used by the rest of us to describe anything that isn’t bitcoin, our skepticism of bitcoin notwithstanding.
bryanrasmussen 5y ago
I believe shitcoin was a play on bitcoin, and not suggesting that normal coinage was shitcoin in comparison to bitcoin.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

biznickman 5y ago

I think what you meant to say is I'll be curious to see what happens to "America". We're behind the ball on crypto companies due to the regulatory environment. Here's hoping that changes but lots of crypto people are offshore at the moment. Yes, there are shitcoins but there are real things being built as well.