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> The problem is the mistaken notion that these can be big businesses. HN isn't a business at all. It only loses money, and in return generates some sort of go
by pessimizer 3y ago
> The problem is the mistaken notion that these can be big businesses.
HN isn't a business at all. It only loses money, and in return generates some sort of goodwill or authenticity for its owners, who are extraordinarily wealthy. All problems can be ignored if we can always rely on rich people to give us what we want.
- notatoad 3y agoand in this case, rich people who have become rich by driving exactly the sort of inexorable growth and commercialization that leads companies down the path reddit has taken.
- pcthrowaway 3y agoRespectfully, I think YCombinator is well aware that the benefit to them is greater than the cost of running Hacker News. In addition to Hacker News making them the most well known startup accelerator in the world, who people will apply to from all over the world, it also provides benefits for their incubees, as they get free advertising on Hacker News, and presumably this makes their investments more likely to succeed (although I'd love to see a comparison of the historic portfolios of various startup accelerators)