

When I think of Snapchat's new potential $10B valuation, I am reminded of this - ulfw
https://signalvnoise.com/posts/1941-press-release-37signals-valuation-tops-100-billion-after-bold-vc-investment

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wellboy
Why all the hate? Create a product that shares more images than any other
technology in the whole world and you can have a $10B app, too.

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EpicEng
The point is exactly that; the valuation is completely ephemeral without a
demonstration that this business can actually make money. The user stats are
great, but right now these guys are underpants gnomes trying to figure out how
that crucial middle step. This company makes _no money at all_.

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wellboy
Why do people not see that every single time, what is so hard to understand
about that?

Twitter & Facebook didn't make _no money at all_ either for the first 3 years
even, now look at them. If you have millions and millions of users that use
your product all the time, you will _always_ make money. It's just a matter of
when you turn monetization on, which Snapchat is already testing with
sponsored stories.

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EpicEng
I hope I mentally parsed your comment correctly, it was tough with all if
those negations, but the claim that all companies who have long user lists
will _always_ monetize is demonstrably false.

Off the top of my head:

    
    
      1. Friendster
      2. AltaVista
      3. AOL's AIM. They tried, and failed.
    

I'm not saying that a huge user list is worthless, that would be silly, but
until you're making money it's all just pie in the sky thinking.

