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Silicon Valley creates companies with unsustainable business models that have to rely on tax/labor/regulatory loopholes. They pretend that profitability is due
by boh 4y ago
Silicon Valley creates companies with unsustainable business models that have to rely on tax/labor/regulatory loopholes. They pretend that profitability is due to actual technological innovation while negatively affecting actually functioning companies who don't have the same access to capital (bcs real companies can't pretend like they're capable of infinite growth). What most Silicon Valley companies wind up being are financial instruments that function exclusively as exit strategies. The Silicon Valley business is to essentially create innovation narratives they can sell without facing the consequences of poor business practices.
- gonzo41 4y agoI always think about uber. The moment that they have to start treating drivers like employee's they can't make money because self driving cars are still a dream and the taxi business is cut throat and always has been.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago> moment that they have to start treating drivers like employee's they can't make money Revel, in New York, has employees and does fine.
- boh 4y agoDefine "does fine". Spending and losing VC money doesn't count.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago> Define "does fine". Spending and losing VC money doesn't count Then Revel does fine.
- boh 4y agoI'm guessing by the rhetorical nature of the response, the details of "fine" aren't clear.
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago> the details of "fine" aren't clear They’re not, particularly since “spending and losing VC money” is often tossed around Uber, which doesn’t make sense, since it’s no longer VC backed. I’m interpreting your sentiment as having a cash-flow positive operating model. Ridesharing absolutely works on a fundamental level with enough gross profit to fairly compensate drivers. (It doesn’t if drivers can log on and off at will, nor in low-population density or poorer areas.)
- boh 4y agoI'm sure we'll see plenty of "gross profit" in their non-GAAP financial statements. I guess it doesn't take much to have people defend companies they know so little about in industries they have no experience in. Marketing really works I guess. Btw the Revel NY ridesharing isn't going so well: https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-commission-thwarts-revels-electric-car-ride-hailing-service-11624398048 https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-commission-thwart...
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago> sure we'll see plenty of "gross profit" in their non-GAAP financial statements You claimed the “moment that [ridesharing companies] have to start treating drivers like employee's they can't make money.” I showed a counterfactual. You’re doubling down with hunches and suppositions. > Revel NY ridesharing isn't going so well You’re citing an article from 2021 on the TLC blocking Revel’s application for more vehicles [1]. (It was since approved.) How is the government telling a company to stop growing an indictment of their business model? [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-commission-thwarts-revels-electric-car-ride-hailing-service-11624398048 https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-commission-thwart...
- lanstin 4y agoMany transit solutions are successful in NYC but not elsewhere.
- marcosdumay 4y ago> the taxi business is cut throat and always has been For drivers, yes. But in many cities the taxi system was engineered so that the owners of "positions" got lavish profit.
- readthenotes1 4y ago"bcs real companies can't pretend like they're capable of infinite growth" WeWork is a real company and managed it for a while