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None of the things you mention matter, frankly. Nobody is claiming whatsapp is worthless. It's the valuation. Just because your users are passionate doesn't mea
by cylinder 13y ago
None of the things you mention matter, frankly. Nobody is claiming whatsapp is worthless. It's the valuation. Just because your users are passionate doesn't mean you deserve a high valuation. And something missed here is that Indian, SE Asian users, et al aren't that valuable in terms of how much money you can make displaying mobile ads to them.
- argumentum 13y ago> Just because your users are passionate doesn't mean you deserve a high valuation No one "deserves" any particular valuation: those numbers come from how much people are willing to pay, and how little you're willing to sell. Due to the post acquisition success of Instagram, companies like SnapChat and WhatsApp have more leverage than their predecessors in these negotiations. Thus, they command higher valuations. WhatsApp, though of course a Valley company, seemed to have been "discovered" overseas. It famously doesn't have ads and instead charges $1/year (which its users are willing to pay). In the short term, yes, India/SE Asia are less lucrative markets per person, but in the long term they have greater potential for growth. With the numbers as they are, looks like Zuckerberg intends this as a long term play.