The more I interact with the business world, the less affection I feel to the entire concept of public companies. Software companies, in particular, seem like a

The more I interact with the business world, the less affection I feel to the entire concept of public companies. Software companies, in particular, seem like a bad fit for the entire concept. What is a share, and why is valuable? More importantly, why should profits of the business be of any value with regards to stock price? In the world of dividend-paying companies, the connection between profit, dividend, and thus stock price is obvious. But most tech companies don't pay dividends. With voting shares, there is value in control over the company's direction, and the more successful the company is, the more power you control a share of. But most shareholders don't vote, and many companies issue shares that don't grant the owner a vote. That leaves the base value of shares as being tied to the fact that you have a claim on whatever assets are left when the company goes bust. But software companies don't hold much in the way of resellable assets, and few would shutter their doors before their debts wipe out what little assets the company holds. Maybe you can bet on the company being bought out by either a bigger company or a private interest, but that rarely happens anywhere near the peak of a company's market cap.