> AFAIK Rev3 had a decent, proven business model Definitely and that may have been a problem: the business model was certain and their valuation could be easil

> AFAIK Rev3 had a decent, proven business model Definitely and that may have been a problem: the business model was certain and their valuation could be easily calculated. OTOH, Instagram's business model is uncertain and their valuation was calculated based on "comps" rather than on business model performance, leading to a much wider range of valuations. Add to that the fact Instagram became a leader in a hot market where Revision3 became an also-ran in a legacy market and their relative valuations make more sense.