Pinterest Raises $367M at $11B valuation • Hacker News Board

Re: Pinterest Raises $367M at $11B valuation

#101

Post by bottled_poe » Tue, Mar 17, 2015, 1:49 AM UTC

jsmthrowaway wrote: post #74

bottled_poe wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Welcome to the free market. Either deliver what people want or fail. If influencing human behaviour is more important to you, then you may be in the wrong profession.

I see it's now time to condescendingly explain economics to me to counter a morality lamentation, including the suggestion that I should shut up and get out of not just the industry, but my profession , as if somehow I fucked up thinking computers can effect change outside of marketing. Right, how dare I invest my life into writing software and hoping the possibilities include anything outside of selling Pepsi and Ve…

Trust me when I say I'm on your side here. But, let's not forget that computers do little more than add numbers and transmit data. It is the application of this technology that adds economic value to society. And those applications are driven by human desire. Societal change is more effectively influenced through social representation, and there are many avenues to achieve that, but I don't believe creating software in an office space is the most effective one.

I wish things could be different, but without financial freedom, we are destined to build what other people deem valuable. One of the best things we can do is work with people whose values align with our own.

Re: Pinterest Raises $367M at $11B valuation

#102

Post by jlebar » Tue, Mar 17, 2015, 1:51 AM UTC

taylorbuley wrote: post #17

sharkweek wrote: post #11

You know when you hear about a lot of insane valuations and your jaw sort of drops in disbelief? I feel the opposite when I think about Pinterest. My immediate reaction here is "yeah, makes sense." I guess it must stem from my marketing agency days. I had SO MANY clients begging me to get them into Pinterest ads when they released. I also sit at home and see how much time my wife spends on the site and how dedicated…

The pre-business model unicorn thing still confuses me. The kicker in your comment -- scratching the surface of profitability -- is what I find interesting. What if they start digging to find there's no depth behind this surface? http://www.wsj.com/articles/viewers-dont-add-up-to-profit-fo...

> What if they start digging to find there's no depth behind this surface?

Then the investors stand to lose money.

Investing is a bet, right? If making money here were a sure thing -- e.g. if they already had the money in hand -- then they wouldn't need to raise capital.

Maybe your question is, why would anyone invest in a company without a business model, particularly at this valuation? I'm not an investor, but I'm sure part of the calculus is looking back in history towards similar companies.

Re: Pinterest Raises $367M at $11B valuation

#103

Post by anigbrowl » Tue, Mar 17, 2015, 1:59 AM UTC

stevesearer wrote: post #43

anigbrowl wrote: post #18

This seems like an amazingly high valuation for a company that basically does digital scrapbooking.

Think of it more like Google in that people search Pinterest for things they like and want to buy and it is much more interesting than a scrapbook. You can't really type 'shirt and shoes I like and want to buy' into Google, but you can do that same sort of thing on Pinterest. Pinterest can monetize that intent through affiliate deals and advertising like Google does with search intent.

I know, I don't think it's without value. I'm just not seeing how it's worth this much, though.

Re: Pinterest Raises $367M at $11B valuation

#104

Post by free2rhyme214 » Tue, Mar 17, 2015, 2:02 AM UTC

jlebar wrote: post #102

taylorbuley wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pre-business model unicorn thing still confuses me. The kicker in your comment -- scratching the surface of profitability -- is what I find interesting. What if they start digging to find there's no depth behind this surface? http://www.wsj.com/articles/viewers-dont-add-up-to-profit-fo...

> What if they start digging to find there's no depth behind this surface? Then the investors stand to lose money. Investing is a bet, right? If making money here were a sure thing -- e.g. if they already had the money in hand -- then they wouldn't need to raise capital. Maybe your question is, why would anyone invest in a company without a business model, particularly at this valuation? I'm not an investor, but I'm…

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram are good examples.

Re: Pinterest Raises $367M at $11B valuation

#105

Post by free2rhyme214 » Tue, Mar 17, 2015, 2:07 AM UTC

logicallee wrote: post #88

sharkweek wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The second line in my comment says... "My immediate reaction here" Not every comment on HN needs to be an in depth analysis, especially when my comment is, exactly as I said, a gut reaction to a piece of news. Are the points I made anecdotal? Absolutely, but that doesn't make the meta-commentary any less valid.

I appreciate that, and you did identify it, but when you're talking about valuations, of course it makes the meta-commentary less valid not to mention any numbers at all! you have to talk about numbers, because otherwise what I said applies - i.e. why are they selling stock at 9 cents on the dollar in this round?

The only numbers that matter are the number of users and how long they spend using the product. That's it.

If those numbers were declining investors wouldn't believe Pinterest could monetize their users like Twitter or Facebook.

Re: Pinterest Raises $367M at $11B valuation

#106

Post by free2rhyme214 » Tue, Mar 17, 2015, 2:11 AM UTC

jsmthrowaway wrote: post #48

jaronheard wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Misleading comparison. Armenia's GDP is the estimated economic worth produced annually by Armenia. Pinterest's valuation relates to the economic value produced by Pinterest for all future years, not annually.

I get the feeling no matter what comparison I make, you'd call it misleading, because that's really splitting at hairs. The thrust of the comment and the point of referencing Armenia's GDP was the scale of the figures. I've now edited it out since apparently nobody can address my point without slapping around the GDP comparison, as if it's important I get every word of my comment exactly right regardless of the point…

I wouldn't worry so much about valuations.

Everyday it's XYZ company is raising XYZ million dollar round at X billion dollar valuation.

When the economy corrects itself later after the fracking market explodes this won't matter much.

I'd worry more about what you're doing then a company that monetizes users who look at pictures.

There are much greater problems to solve.

Re: Pinterest Raises $367M at $11B valuation

#107

Post by jpadkins » Tue, Mar 17, 2015, 2:12 AM UTC

its a visual search engine that is taking share from google. It's ad formats perform as well as search ads. $11B is undervalued, especially compared to whatsapp et al.

Re: Pinterest Raises $367M at $11B valuation

#108

Post by PublicEnemy111 » Tue, Mar 17, 2015, 2:13 AM UTC

Isn't the holy grail of advertising perfect targeting? Users aren't annoyed by the perceived degradation of the platform where the ads are served, ad companies don't waste money on ads the user isn't interested in, and the clicks result in far more revenue. Pinterest is a leap in this direction. They have enormous potential and a brilliant team.

I can't remember a time I've purposefully clicked an ad on Facebook/Twitter. The only problem with Pinterest is that it seems plagued by duplicate content.

Re: Pinterest Raises $367M at $11B valuation

#109

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Mar 17, 2015, 2:13 AM UTC

bottled_poe wrote: post #101

jsmthrowaway wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see it's now time to condescendingly explain economics to me to counter a morality lamentation, including the suggestion that I should shut up and get out of not just the industry, but my profession , as if somehow I fucked up thinking computers can effect change outside of marketing. Right, how dare I invest my life into writing software and hoping the possibilities include anything outside of selling Pepsi and Ve…

Trust me when I say I'm on your side here. But, let's not forget that computers do little more than add numbers and transmit data. It is the application of this technology that adds economic value to society. And those applications are driven by human desire. Societal change is more effectively influenced through social representation, and there are many avenues to achieve that, but I don't believe creating software…

[deleted]

Re: Pinterest Raises $367M at $11B valuation

#110

Post by curiously » Tue, Mar 17, 2015, 2:57 AM UTC

j79 wrote: post #89

curiously wrote: post #47

This shows that we are in a major bubble...finally poised for a major major market correction.

And maybe the guys at Pinterest realize that, which is why they're building up their cash war chest before the funding dries up?

history have shown those that rely on capital, also die from the lack of it.

ie) porsche