[Craig Newmark of craigslist] is what business school people call a "bad competitor" because he appears more interested in serving society than making money. H

[Craig Newmark of craigslist] is what business school people call a "bad competitor" because he appears more interested in serving society than making money. He does make money by charging certain kinds of users, but the bulk of his service is free. He is like Henry Ford who, after introducing the Model T, lowered prices, increased wages and concentrated on market share rather than maximizing profit. When challenged by shareholders unhappy that their dividends weren't higher, he replied that they should view his company as "an instrument of service rather than as a machine for making money." startup relevance: I've seen growth at the expense of profit painted as megalomaniacal empire-building, and I felt the strain of the selfishness of it, but not recognized it intellectually. Growth can sometimes be justified economically, if it can improve future profitability, so it's not "growth vs. profit" but "future vs. now" (i.e. an investment). There's security in not maximizing immediate profits, too - craigslist isn't going out of business any time soon; and the goodwill generated by "leaving money on the table" is arguably worth something.