[cft]

Just like it was impossible to start a car company after say 1920 due to the established players, it has become impossible to start and run a large consumer internet company where the primary function is information retrieval/search like in Yelp. If Google maps did not exist (with "Local Guides" now), Yelp's market cap could have been 5x of what it is. They were lucky that they started in 2004 when Google bombing was still possible: had they started more recently, they would not have gotten even the market cap they have now: high barrier to entry, no cheap distribution channels.

[nradov]

I can't tell whether you're being sarcastic? Several car companies operating today were founded after 1920.

[erk__]

You are right it would be more precise to say after 1948. There is only one company in the 10 biggest companies that got founded after 48.

[falsedan]

Who owns them now?