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Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place

economist.com

291–300 of 774 posts

Re: Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place

#291
post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any growing startup that's not bleeding money? Isn't what the seed and Series A and maybe B funding is about? After series A funding I'd expect some revenue stream, but not enough to pay expenses, after B series, they should have a plan to profitability and some proven customers that show that they can actually get that revenue, and after C I'd expect them to be executing to that plan. If bleeding money scar…

There are. It happens when you hit high level of product market fit with a lean team and don’t go on a massive hiring spree after but keep growing the team at a measured pace. I think Github, Notion, Retool, Slack, probably Figma, hit revenues quite quickly as they launched and became profitable or at least close to breakeven.

You mention Slack, but they had losses of $140M/year prior to IPO:

Slack says it may not turn profitable; IPO filing reveals $139 million in losses, Microsoft primary competitor

The Slack IPO filing shows annual revenue of $400.5 million, up 60% from the prior year, with a net loss of $138.9 million, for the 12-month period that ended Jan. 31. Slack's actual fiscal year-end date has yet to be determined.

Re: Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place

#292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is your definition of earnings? Because Toyota's net income far exceeds Tesla's

My bad, not earnings, it was operating income: https://twitter.com/SawyerMerritt/status/1524254013025357824

No worries, but I'm not sure what notion you're trying to craft with that stat. Toyota had far more revenue and profit. Operating income was lower... so what? Tells me Toyota has been spending money to carve a huge chunk out of the EV sector. Maybe they are late. Maybe Tesla will show that it's current valuation holds. I doubt it.

Re: Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place

#293

I almost got offer from DoorDash, with obviously RSU as one of the compensation. Eventually didn't get the offer because they said I didn't pass leadership interview. Apparently I was interviewing at one level above I thought I was interviewing (the recruiter messed up). Anyway, I accepted an offer from a hedge fund, comparatively similar, but all cash. Now I feel that I am glad I accepted the hedge fund offer. I don…

Eventually didn't get the offer because they said I didn't pass leadership interview. Apparently I was interviewing at one level above I thought I was interviewing (the recruiter messed up).

That sounds very encouraging. Need to tell all my friends to invest hours and hours of their time in this company's careful and considered hiring process.

Re: Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place

#294
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they are one of the big cheerleaders for creating bubbles Can you share an example?

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/08/20/the-ipo-is-bein... The E runs plenty of cautionary articles and they are good at hindsight https://www.economist.com/business/uber-doordash-and-similar... But aren't exactly leading the charge against financial corruption imo

So do you have examples of cheerleading or what?

Re: Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place

#295

It's fascinating to trace the genesis of present crash to Fed's policies post 2008 crisis. The interest rates were kept artificially low to prevent another Great Depression. 2010s saw an unprecedented rally of tech/growth stocks, fuelled by cheap capital. Growth at all cost was the mantra, hoping companies will turn profitable at some point á la Amazon. Uber's CEO hit the nail on the head when he wrote "The average e…

The market is having issues now not because of inflation being kept low but because people panic when everything isn't going smoothly. The supply chain and WW3 have investors scared, and now they're panicking and leaving the markets and taking their profits with them. Others panick and get what cash they can. Some will buy low and it'll level off soon probably. I think this is more of a pull back than a recession. Generally the economy is in good shape it's just the speculators are bailing from the market.

Re: Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place

#296
post #2

I work for non-tech generating 100million+ in revenue. Cushy job, fully remote, good pay and full autonomy with flexible hours working as an IC. I recently talked to a startup, similar pay, culture would be a better fit since it was mostly techies and I'm a nerd by nature.....but things just got awkward as soon as I asked about their revenue....they were bleeding money and I was told they were being acquired by a big…

What profit does your company generate? I wouldn't call anything 'cushy' or stable until there's a reliable way to cover all expenses and investor expectations--especially given how badly company have exploited Goodhart's Law with respect to revenue.

Re: Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place

#297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed it is! Part of the token ring header iirc?

Context is everything. In an economic discussion, one would use the economic meaning.

I know. It was a joke. I thought someone with the username compiler-guy might appreciate it but I guess not.

Edit: otoh I've been a bit grumpy myself this week so who am I to judge. It wasn't a very good joke. I'll tell you the "youthful porpoise" one next time

Re: Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place

#298
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they are one of the big cheerleaders for creating bubbles Can you share an example?

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/08/20/the-ipo-is-bein... The E runs plenty of cautionary articles and they are good at hindsight https://www.economist.com/business/uber-doordash-and-similar... But aren't exactly leading the charge against financial corruption imo

The second article has the following subtitle:

> The mania over ride-sharing and delivery companies has at times been absurd

and closes with these words

> In the flywheel economy hope and hype spring eternal, at least as long as interest rates remain low and capital is essentially free.

Hardly an example of what you accused the newspaper of.

Re: Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place

#299
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they are one of the big cheerleaders for creating bubbles Can you share an example?

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/08/20/the-ipo-is-bein... The E runs plenty of cautionary articles and they are good at hindsight https://www.economist.com/business/uber-doordash-and-similar... But aren't exactly leading the charge against financial corruption imo

Can you explain to me why these two articles represent Economists being the big cheerleaders for creating bubbles? I read both articles and I'm not sure what I am missing.

Re: Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place

#300
post #2

I work for non-tech generating 100million+ in revenue. Cushy job, fully remote, good pay and full autonomy with flexible hours working as an IC. I recently talked to a startup, similar pay, culture would be a better fit since it was mostly techies and I'm a nerd by nature.....but things just got awkward as soon as I asked about their revenue....they were bleeding money and I was told they were being acquired by a big…

There are a lot of companies with “100 million in revenue” and no profit… Mentioning revenue and not profit is not informative.

Yes. It's astounding (to me, anyway) how many companies aren't even close to profitability.
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