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So Profit.

• CPLX 12y ago
  Profitability and return on investment are related concepts but are not the same thing. Instagram, among many others, most certainly generated ample return on its initial invested resources without ever generating profits.
• GoLocalApps 12y ago
  ROI /= Profit. See Amazon (or as noted below, Instagram). However I also think that is a problem for many people who want to startup. They don't usually think about how they'll show a profit and manage to run their business within that profit. Investor money gets them started and an exit by selling an unprofitable yet growing business to a larger company is the goal.