Important article. Was a pleasure to read and see my own view confirmed by you.
One comment: “That’s because these companies choose to walk a road less travelled.” —> this road is not less travelled, it is the opposite, there are lot of companies who choose the sustainable entrepreneurship. It is only because of the noise in media about VC backed start-ups that we hear less about them. We hear less about them, but they are not less;-)
You make a valid point Siavash. Most companies aim for profitability, but it's common for people to be obsessed about top line metrics to boost their valuation (multiple on revenue) and to believe that, as Uber said in their S1, profitability will come at scale.
If your growth comes with unit economics that don't work, it's hard to turn things around later.
It's a path you must choose and stick to from day one!
Important article. Was a pleasure to read and see my own view confirmed by you.
One comment: “That’s because these companies choose to walk a road less travelled.” —> this road is not less travelled, it is the opposite, there are lot of companies who choose the sustainable entrepreneurship. It is only because of the noise in media about VC backed start-ups that we hear less about them. We hear less about them, but they are not less;-)
You make a valid point Siavash. Most companies aim for profitability, but it's common for people to be obsessed about top line metrics to boost their valuation (multiple on revenue) and to believe that, as Uber said in their S1, profitability will come at scale.
If your growth comes with unit economics that don't work, it's hard to turn things around later.
It's a path you must choose and stick to from day one!
Glad you enjoyed the piece :)