[bobwernstein]

quoting top comment under the article:

So let's break this down: A 17-year-old software firm (they are not a startup) has Has only 125 paying customers Generates 742MM in revenue Raised between $2.6 - $3.0 billion dollars in venture capital to generate that $742MM Has never broken even in 17 years Lost $580 MM Concentrates nearly a 1/3 of its revenue in 3 customers (avg rev ~$67MM per those top 3, a staggering amount for a software company of this size) Grew revenues by 25% YoY, that's good, but 91% of that comes from existing clients, that's bad Valued at $20 billion by private investors And the coup de grace, the founders want to keep 49.999% control in perpetuity regardless of their stock ownership. I expected a lot more given the hype and aura this firm has had for so many years. This company is being valued at 26x its revenue, which is insane even in SaaS land. Good luck to anyone who purchases these shares on the open market. I would highly recommend against it.