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Yelp Files For $100 Million IPO

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Re: Yelp Files For $100 Million IPO

#11

Post by earl »

Yelp seems like another business that would have worked much better for the users as a nonprofit ala craigslist (I know craigslist isn't a nonprofit but it's more or less run as one.) See the sporadic bursts of drama about businesses being forced to buy ads on yelp to influence reviews [1:3]. You have to wonder what they're going to do to get enough revenue to support their desired $1-$2B valuation.

[1] http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-42744374/inside-yelps...

[2] http://www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/yelp-extortion-allega...

[3] http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-03-20/news/27059507_1_y...

Re: Yelp Files For $100 Million IPO

#12

Post by mikeklaas »

dmix wrote: post #4
vaksel wrote: post #2

they are too dependent on Google, which is why they were silly to walk away from their offer.

I love how everyone becomes armchair experts on the decisions tech companies made when they try to IPO.

You're right, they must have done the right thing since they knew more at the time.

Re: Yelp Files For $100 Million IPO

#14

Post by jasonlotito »

earl wrote: post #10
leak wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean, like how every other website on the planet is dependent on Google? Yes, that is true. Just like Ford/Toyota/etc are dependent on BP/Exxon/etc.

No, I think the gp is referencing the fact that 75 (seriously, 75!!!) percent of yelps traffic comes in from google [1]. You have to view that as basically a failure of the company and the brand. Instead of going to yelp for a review, people just search in google. This also obviously leaves them enormously exposed to changes in Google's algorithms, whether intended to affect yelp or not. (Cue the google employees wit…

To be fair, while they might right now be reliant on Google for 75% of their traffic, they aren't resting on their laurels. Consider Apple and Siri's use of Yelp. With Apple moving away from Google as much as possible, speciality services like Yelp will become more valuable.

Re: Yelp Files For $100 Million IPO

#15

Post by baddox »

dmix wrote: post #4
vaksel wrote: post #2

they are too dependent on Google, which is why they were silly to walk away from their offer.

I love how everyone becomes armchair experts on the decisions tech companies made when they try to IPO.

That's how online social communities like this work. I like to call it "the democratization of punditry."

Re: Yelp Files For $100 Million IPO

#16

Post by amanfredi »

earl wrote: post #10
leak wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean, like how every other website on the planet is dependent on Google? Yes, that is true. Just like Ford/Toyota/etc are dependent on BP/Exxon/etc.

No, I think the gp is referencing the fact that 75 (seriously, 75!!!) percent of yelps traffic comes in from google [1]. You have to view that as basically a failure of the company and the brand. Instead of going to yelp for a review, people just search in google. This also obviously leaves them enormously exposed to changes in Google's algorithms, whether intended to affect yelp or not. (Cue the google employees wit…

This isn't really fair. In Chrome DNS has practically been replaced by google search, and it's great.

Instead of typing yelp.com (or was it yelp.net? www.yelp.biz? http://www.yelp.info?) I can just type "yelp" and get where I'm going without having to remember the exact url and without getting an annoying error page if I make a typo. I suspect for many users even in other browsers the search box gets much more use than the URL box.

Re: Yelp Files For $100 Million IPO

#17

Post by leak »

thematt wrote: post #9
leak wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean, like how every other website on the planet is dependent on Google? Yes, that is true. Just like Ford/Toyota/etc are dependent on BP/Exxon/etc.

That analogy doesn't really work. If BP or Exxon refuses to support Ford's vehicle, there are other people to supply the fuel. If Google drops Yelp's ranking, there is no other search engine who is going to fulfill that traffic source that was just yanked from Yelp. But yes, I agree that it's a problem that most websites face, not just Yelp.

Actually, I don't think it's a problem.

Re: Yelp Files For $100 Million IPO

#18

Post by marquis »

amandalim89 wrote: post #5
vaksel wrote: post #2

they are too dependent on Google, which is why they were silly to walk away from their offer.

google was offering much less than what Microsoft was bringing to the table ($700M) - and they turned that down too. I think if Google up their bid (at least trying to match Microsoft's) Yelp might have gone for it just because it was Google. http://news.accuracast.com/internet-7471/yelp-turned-down-mi... I think Google should have just paid more and buy Yelp rather than Zagat.

I'd rather see Zagat succeed than Yelp.

Re: Yelp Files For $100 Million IPO

#19

Post by cantbecool »

Why do people think they can turn it around, i.e., make profit? Yelp has been around since 2004, that is a good seven years to show that they can generate at least minimal profit, and if Yelp is not profitable yet, there is a decent chance they never will be. Yelp is not Amazon, they are a crowd-sourced review site. Growth is great, but operating in the black is better.

That's just my opinion though. So feel free to criticize.

Re: Yelp Files For $100 Million IPO

#20

Post by callmeed »

Not sure I'd want to invest in a company that rings a bell every time they close a sale [1]. Unless of course it's 7-figure enterprise sales. I'd rather put my money into things that ring up sales non-stop.

[1]See the 8:00 mark at http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/03/dogs-unicorns-and-mysteriou...

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