It took Facebook quite a while before they became profitable. The issue is with the lack of lock in. The "on demand" and service type startups are easier to substitute. It's just another challenge though. I could see Uber reach a point where they raise prices by 25% and I'd still pick them over another service with fewer drivers available.
Comparing to Facebook seems like comparing apples to oranges. The article is about selling physical goods and services for less than it costs to produce them, which is different than allowing people to access a service that you don't yet know how you're going to pay for.
A better analogy might be companies that manufacture video game consoles, where they almost always sell at a loss when a new console is first released, with the hope to make profit in the long term - but there you're locked in to some extent, as you pointed out.
Sr. Network Engineer - Mobile Gaming - San Francisco - FULL-TIME, H1B welcome
At MunkyFun you’ll be part of a small team supporting multiple products at all stages of development (prototype to live ops). On the webserver front you’ll be writing and optimizing web server Python code (publicly over 500k DAU), designing and optimizing MySQL for a healthy 8 digit player count and scaling AWS servers. For synchronous multiplayer you’ll write both client and server high perfomance C/C++ (we were the first mobile FPS to support 5v5 players and it was over Edge!). When it comes to analytics you’ll help us refine our home grown system and improve our dashboards. We have proven tech and a team here to teach and support you where needed of course!
The MunkyFun studio is an independently owned mobile game company comprised of industry veterans with roots in console gaming. Founded in 2008 on the tails of the first mobile app store, MunkyFun has shipped over 15 high quality games across various platforms. These critically acclaimed games have received awards, appeared in prime time network TV ads, achieved App of the Week on both iPhone and iPad, and have taken position in special categories on the Apple App Store, as well as showcased as part of the unveiling of iPhone4.
Here at MunkyFun, we believe all hard work should be equally rewarded, regardless of the role. Therefore, we offer a very generous profit sharing program that keeps all Munkys fully invested in the success of the company. We also offer a phenomenal benefits package, including 401k matching and health care.
