4 ms·

The tech companies who are actually hiring people (i.e. the antithesis of the two person startup seeking technical co-founder) are selling a product or service

The tech companies who are actually hiring people (i.e. the antithesis of the two person startup seeking technical co-founder) are selling a product or service for money. The only people worried about a bubble are those who are hoping to cash out on their user count. Ask yourself: "does the work I do contribute to a product or service that can be sold?". If the answer is yes, then you're living outside the bubble.

potatolicious 14y ago
A bit of an oversimplification, no? There are plenty of startups of the "lots of users, show ads" variety, some of which might actually make viable businesses, most of which probably won't. The trouble here is overvaluation - there are plenty of startups which do sell a product or service for money, but are overvalued and over-hired. I can imagine many startups here that would make viable, profitable, 10-person shops, but instead are swimming around with 100+ engineers. The fact that they have revenue and monetizable product isn't going to save them when the bubble bursts.
- vectorpush 14y ago
  Indeed, I am generalizing somewhat, but it's a core truth that holds pretty well. Consumers don't really care about a bubble, if they value a product or service they're going to buy it. The bubble won't make a company any less profitable, an over-hired company is still over-hired regardless of whether or not a bubble exists; this applies even to ad-based companies. If the bubble bursts tomorrow, Facebook and Google won't care, it's not as if their ad-clicking users will suddenly stop clicking ads. A bursting bubble is only a threat to those who rely on external cash infusions to bootstrap their operations until they can figure out how to turn a profit. If 10,000 conversions a month is profitable, it will still be profitable when all the VC money dries up.

4 ms·

The tech companies who are actually hiring people (i.e. the antithesis of the two person startup seeking technical co-founder) are selling a product or service

by vectorpush 14y ago

potatolicious 14y ago
A bit of an oversimplification, no? There are plenty of startups of the "lots of users, show ads" variety, some of which might actually make viable businesses, most of which probably won't. The trouble here is overvaluation - there are plenty of startups which do sell a product or service for money, but are overvalued and over-hired. I can imagine many startups here that would make viable, profitable, 10-person shops, but instead are swimming around with 100+ engineers. The fact that they have revenue and monetizable product isn't going to save them when the bubble bursts.
- vectorpush 14y ago
  Indeed, I am generalizing somewhat, but it's a core truth that holds pretty well. Consumers don't really care about a bubble, if they value a product or service they're going to buy it. The bubble won't make a company any less profitable, an over-hired company is still over-hired regardless of whether or not a bubble exists; this applies even to ad-based companies. If the bubble bursts tomorrow, Facebook and Google won't care, it's not as if their ad-clicking users will suddenly stop clicking ads. A bursting bubble is only a threat to those who rely on external cash infusions to bootstrap their operations until they can figure out how to turn a profit. If 10,000 conversions a month is profitable, it will still be profitable when all the VC money dries up.