Essential Raises $300M

#1

Post by JumpCrisscross » Thu, Jun 08, 2017, 3:31 PM UTC

Essential Raises $300M
bloomberg.com

Re: Essential Raises $300M

#2

Post by Fej » Thu, Jun 08, 2017, 8:41 PM UTC

Who actually expects this to succeed? It's a mediocre flagship.

Re: Essential Raises $300M

#3

Post by rayuela » Thu, Jun 08, 2017, 10:09 PM UTC

This one honestly makes no sense to me. How is this company being valued at a Billion dollars with a flagship product that is indistinguishable in features and price from any of its competitors. Who the hell is going to gamble on a new, no name brand for a $700 product that is exactly like the very reputable products from Apple, Samsung, and 50 other phone manufacturers?!?

Re: Essential Raises $300M

#4

Post by jaredhansen » Thu, Jun 08, 2017, 10:58 PM UTC

Fej wrote: post #2

Who actually expects this to succeed? It's a mediocre flagship.

>It's a mediocre flagship.

So was Android.

It's a bet on Rubin himself and the team he's recruited, not on the current product.

Re: Essential Raises $300M

#5

Post by revelation » Thu, Jun 08, 2017, 11:01 PM UTC

jaredhansen wrote: post #4

Fej wrote: post #2

Who actually expects this to succeed? It's a mediocre flagship.

>It's a mediocre flagship. So was Android. It's a bet on Rubin himself and the team he's recruited, not on the current product.

But they have a product. It's a smartphone, in a saturated, downhill headed market.

Re: Essential Raises $300M

#6

Post by seoseokho » Thu, Jun 08, 2017, 11:13 PM UTC

revelation wrote: post #5

jaredhansen wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It's a mediocre flagship. So was Android. It's a bet on Rubin himself and the team he's recruited, not on the current product.

But they have a product. It's a smartphone, in a saturated, downhill headed market.

I agree. Plus, I don't think this is differentiated from other flagships. Some people will like it others won't and I'm not sure if there is a moonshot in there to justify $300m.

Re: Essential Raises $300M

#7

Post by jpm_sd » Thu, Jun 08, 2017, 11:15 PM UTC

rayuela wrote: post #3

This one honestly makes no sense to me. How is this company being valued at a Billion dollars with a flagship product that is indistinguishable in features and price from any of its competitors. Who the hell is going to gamble on a new, no name brand for a $700 product that is exactly like the very reputable products from Apple, Samsung, and 50 other phone manufacturers?!?

Also, what is the benefit of a "bezel-less" phone? I always put cases on my phones, ever since I dropped one and spider-webbed the screen some years back. Without a bezel, the case will be covering up part of the screen...

Re: Essential Raises $300M

#8

Post by wmf » Thu, Jun 08, 2017, 11:16 PM UTC

rayuela wrote: post #3

This one honestly makes no sense to me. How is this company being valued at a Billion dollars with a flagship product that is indistinguishable in features and price from any of its competitors. Who the hell is going to gamble on a new, no name brand for a $700 product that is exactly like the very reputable products from Apple, Samsung, and 50 other phone manufacturers?!?

But they have a notch in the screen and a snap-on camera!

Re: Essential Raises $300M

#9

Post by notfried » Thu, Jun 08, 2017, 11:21 PM UTC

Fej wrote: post #2

Who actually expects this to succeed? It's a mediocre flagship.

Perhaps Rubin's end-game is to do a fork of Android that would break away reliance on Google and then be acquired by Samsung for a few billions.

Re: Essential Raises $300M

#10

Post by vqc » Thu, Jun 08, 2017, 11:22 PM UTC

rayuela wrote: post #3

This one honestly makes no sense to me. How is this company being valued at a Billion dollars with a flagship product that is indistinguishable in features and price from any of its competitors. Who the hell is going to gamble on a new, no name brand for a $700 product that is exactly like the very reputable products from Apple, Samsung, and 50 other phone manufacturers?!?

Maybe investor expectation is that a company like HTC or LG or some other none-Samsung/Apple/Google/Amazon company will buy Essential in order to get a strong team that is building a suite of products that tries to compete with Samsung/Apple/Google/Amazon. Can that justify the valuation?