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Lessons learned, according to the article: 1. Just because a company has a huge and growing audience doesn't mean it can find a huge revenue source 2. It's al

Lessons learned, according to the article: 1. Just because a company has a huge and growing audience doesn't mean it can find a huge revenue source 2. It's almost impossible to pay for a deal through "synergies"

davidw 19y ago
> 1. Just because a company has a huge and growing audience doesn't mean it can find a huge revenue source How does this fit in with "make something people want". I don't think it invalidates it, maybe it just means "make it, then sell it in the hopes that someone else can find a way to make money from it"?
- dpapathanasiou 19y ago
  "Make something people want" is a necessary but not sufficient condition. I read "The Four Steps to the Epiphany" (http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Steven-Blank/dp/0976470705/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1216247-4812436 http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Steven-Blank/dp/09...) this weekend, and based on that, I would rephrase it "Make something people want and will pay for".
- cstejerean 19y ago
  Well, make something people want first and find a revenue source later works just fine. It's not that Skype didn't find a way to make money and became a failure despite of it's uesr base. The problem is simply that Ebay paid way more than Skype was worth. $90 million in annual revenues is a decent amount of money and at a lower price it would have been a good investment.
  - dpapathanasiou 19y ago
    The problem is simply that Ebay paid way more than Skype was worth. $90 million in annual revenues is a decent amount of money. Right, Skype would have been a great deal at a lower price. But it's a case study that might give future acquirers of other startups pause, as the last paragraph suggests: "Here's a suggestion to every Internet executive: take a Post-It note, write 'EBay wasted $3 billion on Skype' and stick it to your monitor. Stare at it the next time some hot social whatever-2.0 company comes by and talks about growing fast and finding a revenue model later."

davidw 19y ago

> 1. Just because a company has a huge and growing audience doesn't mean it can find a huge revenue source How does this fit in with "make something people want". I don't think it invalidates it, maybe it just means "make it, then sell it in the hopes that someone else can find a way to make money from it"?

dpapathanasiou 19y ago
"Make something people want" is a necessary but not sufficient condition. I read "The Four Steps to the Epiphany" (http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Steven-Blank/dp/0976470705/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1216247-4812436 http://www.amazon.com/Four-Steps-Epiphany-Steven-Blank/dp/09...) this weekend, and based on that, I would rephrase it "Make something people want and will pay for".
cstejerean 19y ago
Well, make something people want first and find a revenue source later works just fine. It's not that Skype didn't find a way to make money and became a failure despite of it's uesr base. The problem is simply that Ebay paid way more than Skype was worth. $90 million in annual revenues is a decent amount of money and at a lower price it would have been a good investment.
- dpapathanasiou 19y ago
  The problem is simply that Ebay paid way more than Skype was worth. $90 million in annual revenues is a decent amount of money. Right, Skype would have been a great deal at a lower price. But it's a case study that might give future acquirers of other startups pause, as the last paragraph suggests: "Here's a suggestion to every Internet executive: take a Post-It note, write 'EBay wasted $3 billion on Skype' and stick it to your monitor. Stare at it the next time some hot social whatever-2.0 company comes by and talks about growing fast and finding a revenue model later."