4 ms·

"It's a 'social, generate zero or near zero revenue bubble.'" Can you point to a few high profile examples of this besides Instagram? There are SO MANY new wa

"It's a 'social, generate zero or near zero revenue bubble.'" Can you point to a few high profile examples of this besides Instagram? There are SO MANY new ways to make money now and new low-friction ways to get distribution. We'll always have the next hot social thing (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Turntable.fm, FormSpring). But Zynga? Groupon? Social games in general? PaaS plays like Parse and Heroku? Fab.com? Zulily? Gumroad? Twilio? Many startups might have inflated valuations/outcomes, but they certainly can't be described as "zero or near zero revenue".

matwood 14y ago
Can you point to a few high profile examples of this besides Instagram? There are SO MANY new ways to make money now and new low-friction ways to get distribution. I agree and it's why I think if there is a bubble it's a very narrow one and not a total tech bubble. There are lots of companies making good money right now as you point out. Of course who really knows if Groupon is in the zero revenue group or not since no one has any idea what their financials really look like ;)
- IsaacL 14y ago
  since no one has any idea what their financials really look like I'm guessing the SEC has a good idea. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1490281/000104746911005613/a2203913zs-1.htm http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1490281/0001047469110...
  - matwood 14y ago
    Actually they don't. That SEC document came out in 2011. Auditors are continuing to find issues: http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2012/04/02/groupon-ouch/ http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2012/04/02/groupon-ouch/ From the article: The surprise announcement no doubt raised new alarm bells for investors and analysts. The company has already changed how it counts revenue and has a history of using unconventional accounting metrics to value its business. But the latest accounting issues — which reflect how the company failed to set aside enough money for customer refunds — occur as the company is trying to gain trust and confidence from investors and analysts.

matwood 14y ago

Can you point to a few high profile examples of this besides Instagram? There are SO MANY new ways to make money now and new low-friction ways to get distribution. I agree and it's why I think if there is a bubble it's a very narrow one and not a total tech bubble. There are lots of companies making good money right now as you point out. Of course who really knows if Groupon is in the zero revenue group or not since no one has any idea what their financials really look like ;)

IsaacL 14y ago
since no one has any idea what their financials really look like I'm guessing the SEC has a good idea. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1490281/000104746911005613/a2203913zs-1.htm http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1490281/0001047469110...
- matwood 14y ago
  Actually they don't. That SEC document came out in 2011. Auditors are continuing to find issues: http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2012/04/02/groupon-ouch/ http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2012/04/02/groupon-ouch/ From the article: The surprise announcement no doubt raised new alarm bells for investors and analysts. The company has already changed how it counts revenue and has a history of using unconventional accounting metrics to value its business. But the latest accounting issues — which reflect how the company failed to set aside enough money for customer refunds — occur as the company is trying to gain trust and confidence from investors and analysts.