[LordWinstanley]

What he said ^^

Though, don't forget that most of the companies he quoted are actually losing money hand over fist, but are kept afloat by the fact they have investors queuing up to throw bucket loads of cash at them in the vain hope that some day someone will find a way to monetise it all.

So, I'd suggest that your geographical location might also play a significant part. Venture capitalists / Investors in the US seem a lot more amenable than their more conservative European counterparts to; chucking wodges of cash at seemingly terminably non-profitable businesses, on the off-chance of someday seeing a return.