4 ms·

I think people are taking a very narrow minded view of Dropbox. You're absolutely right that iCloud, potential entries of Google or other big players could hurt

I think people are taking a very narrow minded view of Dropbox. You're absolutely right that iCloud, potential entries of Google or other big players could hurt Dropbox and be competitive. However you have to imagine Dropbox is looking beyond "just file syncing" on client computers. Do you think when Jobs re-joined Apple, he was thinking "lets make Apple a better computer company". Dropbox gave an info session/tech-talk at MIT recently (which they do often), and talked about how they want to be the "Filesystem of the internet". With the money they've raised recently, and the ferocious hiring they're doing, you have to imagine they have plans to move into other spaces that might not necessarily be exactly client/cloud file syncing. I'd gander they have other aspirations and ways to make Dropbox as a platform be pervasive throughout the internet. Dropbox can focus on this one thing. Google can offer space for super cheap, but I can't see them attacking this large problem from as many angles as Dropbox can, since it's the "one" thing they do. This is all speculation, but I don't suspect Dropbox is going to sit complacently in the space they're in with potential pressure coming from so many competitors. Also, iCloud's goal seems to be more to lock users into Apple products rather than be a great file syncing service. Photos off my iPhone get synced to iPhoto, rather than a folder I designate on my computer (ironically, a Dropbox folder). But to be fair, I haven't dived too deep into what I can do with iCloud yet.

run4yourlives 15y ago
I don't disagree with you re: iCloud, as that Apple's MO in all their actions. However I can only gauge risk based on what I can see. It's possible that dropbox can revolutionize some new space that changes the equation, but this isn't evident right now, nor is it easily foreseen to be imminent. Given that, it doesn't look like a viable strategy for them, at least from my removed vantage point.
- erikpukinskis 15y ago
  Did you factor this into your strategy viability assessment?: If DropBox sold to Apple, they'd be out of The Game. Instead of carving out their own niche, with the thrill and risk that goes with it, they'd be supporting a game that Apple has already defined, and is winning. They wouldn't be able to gallop forward towards a future of their choosing, with competitors making them Better from all sides, they'd be IT support for the iApps division. Do you factor the love of entrepreneurship into your equation?
  - chubs 15y ago
    But here's the thing: if i had sold out for almost a billion, you could either see that as a retirement, or you could see it as a platform that you can use for even bigger entrepreneurial projects? Ie with that kind of money behind you, you can take on, say, healthcare or something much bigger. There can be more to it than 'if i take the money, i'm forced to spend the rest of my days on a yacht, enjoying life but wasting away'. At least that'd be how i'd justify selling out to myself :)
    - erikpukinskis 15y ago
      Most "bigger entrepreneurial projects" are built on a platform that includes BOTH money AND a sustainable core business. Think Microsoft's BASIC compiler, Odeo, the Tesla Roadster, etc. I think many founders who sell out realize that the latter is often the harder of the two to procure. You are correct, though, if your goal is buy a yacht you should sell when that becomes possible.
  - run4yourlives 15y ago
    I'm not sure why adding $1B to your net worth somehow reduces your ability to be an entrepreneur. Most founders have a line up of 5 viabile products in their head at any given time anyway.
urza 15y ago
they want to be the "Filesystem of the internet" - this is scary, I really hope they won't succeed.
- elithrar 15y ago
  > they want to be the "Filesystem of the internet" - this is scary, I really hope they won't succeed. Why? Are you interpreting this differently from me? I see them as wanting to provide universal storage for web & mobile applications, in a way that allows you to access your documents & photos across multiple devices and platforms.
  - marvin 15y ago
    Not just documents and photos. In general, working with files on the web is difficult since JavaScript doesn't (yet) let you access the file system. If Dropbox provides really good support for this, they can solve the entire file headache and open up for a whole new type of web applications, while at the same time providing seamless access to the resultant files. This is a pretty big deal.

run4yourlives 15y ago

I don't disagree with you re: iCloud, as that Apple's MO in all their actions. However I can only gauge risk based on what I can see. It's possible that dropbox can revolutionize some new space that changes the equation, but this isn't evident right now, nor is it easily foreseen to be imminent. Given that, it doesn't look like a viable strategy for them, at least from my removed vantage point.

erikpukinskis 15y ago
Did you factor this into your strategy viability assessment?: If DropBox sold to Apple, they'd be out of The Game. Instead of carving out their own niche, with the thrill and risk that goes with it, they'd be supporting a game that Apple has already defined, and is winning. They wouldn't be able to gallop forward towards a future of their choosing, with competitors making them Better from all sides, they'd be IT support for the iApps division. Do you factor the love of entrepreneurship into your equation?
- chubs 15y ago
  But here's the thing: if i had sold out for almost a billion, you could either see that as a retirement, or you could see it as a platform that you can use for even bigger entrepreneurial projects? Ie with that kind of money behind you, you can take on, say, healthcare or something much bigger. There can be more to it than 'if i take the money, i'm forced to spend the rest of my days on a yacht, enjoying life but wasting away'. At least that'd be how i'd justify selling out to myself :)
  - erikpukinskis 15y ago
    Most "bigger entrepreneurial projects" are built on a platform that includes BOTH money AND a sustainable core business. Think Microsoft's BASIC compiler, Odeo, the Tesla Roadster, etc. I think many founders who sell out realize that the latter is often the harder of the two to procure. You are correct, though, if your goal is buy a yacht you should sell when that becomes possible.
- run4yourlives 15y ago
  I'm not sure why adding $1B to your net worth somehow reduces your ability to be an entrepreneur. Most founders have a line up of 5 viabile products in their head at any given time anyway.

urza 15y ago

they want to be the "Filesystem of the internet" - this is scary, I really hope they won't succeed.

elithrar 15y ago
> they want to be the "Filesystem of the internet" - this is scary, I really hope they won't succeed. Why? Are you interpreting this differently from me? I see them as wanting to provide universal storage for web & mobile applications, in a way that allows you to access your documents & photos across multiple devices and platforms.
- marvin 15y ago
  Not just documents and photos. In general, working with files on the web is difficult since JavaScript doesn't (yet) let you access the file system. If Dropbox provides really good support for this, they can solve the entire file headache and open up for a whole new type of web applications, while at the same time providing seamless access to the resultant files. This is a pretty big deal.