[jonknee]

I seriously doubt Groupon.ThePoint.com would today be valued at over a billion dollars.

Dropbox went on a tear after their domain purchase, but I suppose it's possible they would have anyway (though I know from personal experience it was tricky to tell people about Dropbox and then try and remember the domain).

http://www.google.com/trends?q=dropbox

(Dropbox.com was acquired in October 2009, right where growth turns from linear to exponential.)

[qeorge]

Dropbox.com was also acquired right after they got a ton of funding, which could also partially explain the exponential growth.

(Not arguing with you, just pointing it out).

[Confusion]

The left part of any graph that shows exponential growth looks linear. You could just as well argue that the growth has been exponential from the start.