> With a €5bn market capitalisation, Rocket is Europe’s most valuable technology company.
Seriously? I have no idea why they would say such a thing. I guess they have a rather odd definition of "technology company".
Rocket Internet: Waiting for lift-off
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Re: Rocket Internet: Waiting for lift-off
#12> With a €5bn market capitalisation, Rocket is Europe’s most valuable technology company. Seriously? I have no idea why they would say such a thing. I guess they have a rather odd definition of "technology company".
Interestingly, the article claims Rocket is Europe's most valuable tech company, and makes no mention of the most successful former Rocket company: Zalando, which has a market cap above €7bn and went public around the same time as Rocket.
Stock of Zalando vs. Rocket: http://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&c...
Re: Rocket Internet: Waiting for lift-off
#13> In Germany, Mr Samwer is a hero and a role model. Not at all -- entirely the opposite. Samwer is a high-pressure boss, well known for treating his reports and employees with belligerence and hostility. That attitude trickles down to the leaders he places in his shell companies. Rocket-family companies demand the long hours commensurate with typical SV startups, but pay developers below-market salaries, and provide…
I feel like i need to make a comment just to re-emphasize how incorrect that statement by FT is.
Re: Rocket Internet: Waiting for lift-off
#14> In Germany, Mr Samwer is a hero and a role model. Not at all -- entirely the opposite. Samwer is a high-pressure boss, well known for treating his reports and employees with belligerence and hostility. That attitude trickles down to the leaders he places in his shell companies. Rocket-family companies demand the long hours commensurate with typical SV startups, but pay developers below-market salaries, and provide…
This guy speaks the truth.
I chuckled at that line too. Rocket Internet is toxic and their culture is poisonous. They tend to copy the hilariously worst ideas from Silicon Valley and believe that only hustle and posing will lead you to success.
People outside Germany should stop glamorizing them.
Re: Rocket Internet: Waiting for lift-off
#15> With a €5bn market capitalisation, Rocket is Europe’s most valuable technology company. Seriously? I have no idea why they would say such a thing. I guess they have a rather odd definition of "technology company".
That is a very bogus claim.
Even using a narrow definition of technology company, SAP has consistently been Europe's most valuable tech company. They're worth $91 billion, with $21b in sales and $4b in profit - they make Rocket Internet look like a piker.
Even smaller companies like ARM are far beyond the size of Rocket. ARM is worth $22 billion, with $400m in profit.
Re: Rocket Internet: Waiting for lift-off
#16> In Germany, Mr Samwer is a hero and a role model. Not at all -- entirely the opposite. Samwer is a high-pressure boss, well known for treating his reports and employees with belligerence and hostility. That attitude trickles down to the leaders he places in his shell companies. Rocket-family companies demand the long hours commensurate with typical SV startups, but pay developers below-market salaries, and provide…
This guy speaks the truth. I chuckled at that line too. Rocket Internet is toxic and their culture is poisonous. They tend to copy the hilariously worst ideas from Silicon Valley and believe that only hustle and posing will lead you to success. People outside Germany should stop glamorizing them.
What are some examples of the worst ideas from Silicon Valley that they've copied?
Re: Rocket Internet: Waiting for lift-off
#17Behind a paywall for me. Can someone post a TLDR or summary?
Thanks!
Re: Rocket Internet: Waiting for lift-off
#18> In Germany, Mr Samwer is a hero and a role model. Not at all -- entirely the opposite. Samwer is a high-pressure boss, well known for treating his reports and employees with belligerence and hostility. That attitude trickles down to the leaders he places in his shell companies. Rocket-family companies demand the long hours commensurate with typical SV startups, but pay developers below-market salaries, and provide…
There exists also a very critical documentation about Samwer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dpqb2H-snA
He described himself as the "most aggressive man on the internet, even planet", compared business to "blitzkrieg" etc.
Rocket internet is a copy shop. Some rocket websites even had the name of the copied companies in their legal notices. Nothing innovative, mostly online shops.
Re: Rocket Internet: Waiting for lift-off
#19This article will give you a good idea about how a typical rocket company operates http://www.livemint.com/Companies/rYKC6HjnShogjE62jO5lpK/The...
Re: Rocket Internet: Waiting for lift-off
#20I worked at Rocket Internet and the main problem they have is like any big company; a few very good people and a lot of useless people. Any proper startup worth their salt, competing with rocket directly, will absolutely slaughter them.
Given their specialisation in releasing in non-English markets, the question is not "can you beat them" but more like "can you beat them in India when they have a 6 month lead on your expansion?".