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Why everyone is so obsessed by "growth"? Who in their right mind would ride a horse down because it can't be grown into an elephant?

• dmethvin 14y ago
  You're at Hacker News, just about every startup is obsessed by growth because that's all they have on their side. To your analogy, it's more like selling a horse to the petting zoo for kiddie rides because it no longer has enough stamina for long hard rides in the mountains. It's a good deal for the seller, the buyer, and the horse.
• mhurron 14y ago
  You sort of answered your own question. Those obsessed with growth see not growing as failing. There is no other success then growth. Under that mindset having a stable, profitable business is 'riding it down.'
• bmelton 14y ago
  If you aren't growing, you're dying. This is especially true in business where there is generally attrition to contend for. Acquiring a business is generally only done when the expectation of future revenues is greater than the purchase price, but if the business is dying, the key is to maximize the revenue out of it so as to prolong the inevitable, and squeeze as much money out of it as they can.
• vidarh 14y ago
  Eventually the horse will die of old age. And if it hasn't procreated by then, you're left without horses. Not all businesses will have a way of replacing a user base that is dropping off that isn't lower ROI than putting the money elsewhere. If that's the case, then you extract the revenue that's left, but you don't reinvest much of that revenue - you might keep the horse while it's still doing useful work, but you're not building a new stable or hiring new stable boy in expectation of growth.
• athesyn 14y ago
  And the existence of growth is the main reason for a steady loss of quality.