5 ms·

Is Dropbox Really The World's 5th Most Valuable Startup?

19 points by _tarak_ 15y ago

jkahn 15y ago
The fifth most valuable? Only the fifth? We use Dropbox for teams for our company data. We forked out for it because it is that good. Admittedly we're small - only five people thus far - but growing. A few years ago we couldn't do this reliable without a file server. Dropbox has revolutionised file sharing from the low end, and will continue to hit up into the business market with their current trajectory. Yes, we have used alternatives, but none are as straightforward and fuss-free as Dropbox. I think they're the most valuable startup out there at the moment.
- scrrr 15y ago
  Agreed, however I'd say the technology barrier to compete is not that high and it might soon be common to share files conveniently. With a choice of many services that offer the same. That would probably lower the value of Dropbox significantly. Or is there reason to believe there will be no equally useful competition products?
  - jkahn 15y ago
    I disagree that the barrier to compete is not very high. There have been "alternatives" for years - see FolderShare/SkyDrive. There are plenty of alternatives now, but the reality is that their implementation sucks. We tried using JungleDisk but it is just too inefficient. Others were just too fiddly. Dropbox is so easy that my wife and I use it to share files between computers at home rather than do local file shares. Seriously. And it was her idea. Dropbox is so far ahead of the competition it is crazy. They just need to keep that advantage.
joshu 15y ago
Another one. No? What's the difference between a "startup" and a "business"? I'm going to go with Steve Blank's answer: A startup is in search of a business model. A business has found it. Pretty sure Dropbox has found theirs already.
- maximusprime 15y ago
  Wouldn't you say it's a short term business though? People expect email to be free, and have tons of storage. Likewise they will now expect services like dropbox to be free and offer a ton of storage.
  - joshu 15y ago
    I am not really commenting on dropbox itself. Not sure what their long-term model is going to look like, just that they found one for now.
  - smikhanov 15y ago
    Don't think so. The value of service for the Dropbox user grows over time (as the number of stored files and their revisions grow). Having a competitor that will simply be free is not enough for those users to start considering switching. So I think Dropbox is fine in the long run.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - alexro 15y ago
      Who's using Dropbox as a long-term backup strategy? Also, it's just a folder on your machine, switching to a competitor is pointing exactly one folder to the new storage, isn't it? And it should be possible to use two or more services an the same time, building new revision history while still using Dropbox. Then switching over altogether. Sounds rather simple to me.
      - edanm 15y ago
        "Who's using Dropbox as a long-term backup strategy". I am, and I'm guessing plenty of others are too. Although I don't really use the revisions feature, so technically you're correct, I'd have no problem switching to a competitor. But it'll be really hard to compete with Dropbox, and for something so important to me, price isn't the most important issue.
edanm 15y ago
Dropbox, to me, is a shining example of a startup which invented a whole new field, one that I can't live without. Much like Facebook invented a whole new method of social interaction, Had you asked me 3 years ago whether I'd need Dropbox, and described it as "file sharing easily", I'd have said "meh". But Dropbox is more than that. It's a backup solution + file sharing among devices, rolled into one, and executed to perfection. It literally changed my computing life. Dropbox is one service I simply could not live without anymore. So in terms of actual value to me, personally, I'd easily rank Dropbox in the top 5 (along with Facebook). * Note: I agree with joshu here, Dropbox is really not a "startup" per Steve Blank's definition. Also, since when is Wikipedia a startup?
ja27 15y ago
Dropbox is used by about half my coworkers. Among friends that I work on projects with, it's used by more like 90% of them. That's on par with Skype and we saw their valuation.
markokocic 15y ago
If Facebook, Zinga, Groupon and Wikipedia are startups (just looking at the first couple), could someone describe to me why Microsoft, Apple and Google are not startups?
Gustomaximus 15y ago
I think they are too vulnerable a business to be so valuable. I recently swapped to another similar solution recently because they gave a few more gb free storage. And the fact these services are so easy to set up now means it is also so easy to swap for a small reason. Plus the coming of Google Drive; their integration / pricing / distribution will be hard to compete with as syncing becomes more popular with the masses.
- Poyeyo 15y ago
  I would add a parallel between Youtube and Dropbox. Then compare the coming gDrive with Google Video and remind us that Google Video was unable to disrupt Youtube userbase.

19 points by _tarak_ 15y ago

jkahn 15y ago

The fifth most valuable? Only the fifth? We use Dropbox for teams for our company data. We forked out for it because it is that good. Admittedly we're small - only five people thus far - but growing. A few years ago we couldn't do this reliable without a file server. Dropbox has revolutionised file sharing from the low end, and will continue to hit up into the business market with their current trajectory. Yes, we have used alternatives, but none are as straightforward and fuss-free as Dropbox. I think they're the most valuable startup out there at the moment.

scrrr 15y ago
Agreed, however I'd say the technology barrier to compete is not that high and it might soon be common to share files conveniently. With a choice of many services that offer the same. That would probably lower the value of Dropbox significantly. Or is there reason to believe there will be no equally useful competition products?
- jkahn 15y ago
  I disagree that the barrier to compete is not very high. There have been "alternatives" for years - see FolderShare/SkyDrive. There are plenty of alternatives now, but the reality is that their implementation sucks. We tried using JungleDisk but it is just too inefficient. Others were just too fiddly. Dropbox is so easy that my wife and I use it to share files between computers at home rather than do local file shares. Seriously. And it was her idea. Dropbox is so far ahead of the competition it is crazy. They just need to keep that advantage.

joshu 15y ago

Another one. No? What's the difference between a "startup" and a "business"? I'm going to go with Steve Blank's answer: A startup is in search of a business model. A business has found it. Pretty sure Dropbox has found theirs already.

maximusprime 15y ago
Wouldn't you say it's a short term business though? People expect email to be free, and have tons of storage. Likewise they will now expect services like dropbox to be free and offer a ton of storage.
- joshu 15y ago
  I am not really commenting on dropbox itself. Not sure what their long-term model is going to look like, just that they found one for now.
- smikhanov 15y ago
  Don't think so. The value of service for the Dropbox user grows over time (as the number of stored files and their revisions grow). Having a competitor that will simply be free is not enough for those users to start considering switching. So I think Dropbox is fine in the long run.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - alexro 15y ago
    Who's using Dropbox as a long-term backup strategy? Also, it's just a folder on your machine, switching to a competitor is pointing exactly one folder to the new storage, isn't it? And it should be possible to use two or more services an the same time, building new revision history while still using Dropbox. Then switching over altogether. Sounds rather simple to me.
    - edanm 15y ago
      "Who's using Dropbox as a long-term backup strategy". I am, and I'm guessing plenty of others are too. Although I don't really use the revisions feature, so technically you're correct, I'd have no problem switching to a competitor. But it'll be really hard to compete with Dropbox, and for something so important to me, price isn't the most important issue.

edanm 15y ago

Dropbox, to me, is a shining example of a startup which invented a whole new field, one that I can't live without. Much like Facebook invented a whole new method of social interaction, Had you asked me 3 years ago whether I'd need Dropbox, and described it as "file sharing easily", I'd have said "meh". But Dropbox is more than that. It's a backup solution + file sharing among devices, rolled into one, and executed to perfection. It literally changed my computing life. Dropbox is one service I simply could not live without anymore. So in terms of actual value to me, personally, I'd easily rank Dropbox in the top 5 (along with Facebook). * Note: I agree with joshu here, Dropbox is really not a "startup" per Steve Blank's definition. Also, since when is Wikipedia a startup?

ja27 15y ago

Dropbox is used by about half my coworkers. Among friends that I work on projects with, it's used by more like 90% of them. That's on par with Skype and we saw their valuation.

markokocic 15y ago

If Facebook, Zinga, Groupon and Wikipedia are startups (just looking at the first couple), could someone describe to me why Microsoft, Apple and Google are not startups?

Gustomaximus 15y ago

I think they are too vulnerable a business to be so valuable. I recently swapped to another similar solution recently because they gave a few more gb free storage. And the fact these services are so easy to set up now means it is also so easy to swap for a small reason. Plus the coming of Google Drive; their integration / pricing / distribution will be hard to compete with as syncing becomes more popular with the masses.

Poyeyo 15y ago
I would add a parallel between Youtube and Dropbox. Then compare the coming gDrive with Google Video and remind us that Google Video was unable to disrupt Youtube userbase.