Could someone explain a) Why they need so much money? Don't tell me it's to produce some spectacles b) Why they are worth so much? I get that they have an interesting user base (young people), but they are having a hard time making money, aren't they? That $19b WhatsApp purchase hasn't exactly earned a lot of money yet, has it? It's still a very long bet, especially with Facebook being forbidden to collect the data n…
a) To build an ad business capable of handling $100m of ads. You need massive investments in sales, infrastructure, tools, etc. to build a business like that b) They have one of the fastest growing user bases in the social space, their users spends an astounding amount of time on the app (estimated at 30 minutes per day), and their user base is the most targeted demographic for demographics. Also they have literally…
Because advertising isn't working for the people that sell "things." If social networks are supposed to create spending/buying in retail (both online and meatspace) they are not doing a very good job. Google: Retail sales 2016.