"In the old economy of price signals, you tried to build a product that people would want, and the way you knew it worked is that people would pay you more than it cost. You were adding value to the world, and you could tell because you made money. In the new economy of user growth, you don't have to worry about making a product that people want because you can just pay them to use it, so you might end up with companies losing money to give people things that they don't want and driving out the things they do want."
This "new economy" does not sound like a legitimate one. We often see complaints online about "gatekeeping" in today's US society. This appears to be an attempt for all "economic" activity to be controlled through "investment" by a small number of people desperately searching for returns (because the real economy is in shambles). Destroy competition ("disrupt") and then rent-seek.
Proponents once claimed software as a business had infinite upside because the overhead costs are so low. They argued anyone could start a software company. Not today. VC required. That seems to be the general consensus.
Why does today's software require so much investment? Low quality work product that "cost" some ridiculous dollar amount in developer salaries which is then "sold" at the price of something like $0.00-3.99. The "value" to be recouped through surveillance of the user. Brilliant.
Unicorn is the perfect symbol because all of this is pure fantasy.
Money with no place to go. There is no "new economy". There is only the old (real) one that is in dire straits. That is why investors are so desperate. They will try anything.
I know someone losing money handover fist in a VC-backed startup.
I know someone else who goes to a day job for socialization and health insurance but makes his real money selling Microsoft Excel and Word macros.
This "new economy" does not sound like a legitimate one. We often see complaints online about "gatekeeping" in today's US society. This appears to be an attempt for all "economic" activity to be controlled through "investment" by a small number of people desperately searching for returns (because the real economy is in shambles). Destroy competition ("disrupt") and then rent-seek.
Proponents once claimed software as a business had infinite upside because the overhead costs are so low. They argued anyone could start a software company. Not today. VC required. That seems to be the general consensus.
Why does today's software require so much investment? Low quality work product that "cost" some ridiculous dollar amount in developer salaries which is then "sold" at the price of something like $0.00-3.99. The "value" to be recouped through surveillance of the user. Brilliant.
Unicorn is the perfect symbol because all of this is pure fantasy.
Money with no place to go. There is no "new economy". There is only the old (real) one that is in dire straits. That is why investors are so desperate. They will try anything.