[boh]

Silicon Valley creates companies with unsustainable business models that have to rely on tax/labor/regulatory loopholes. They pretend that profitability is due to actual technological innovation while negatively affecting actually functioning companies who don't have the same access to capital (bcs real companies can't pretend like they're capable of infinite growth). What most Silicon Valley companies wind up being are financial instruments that function exclusively as exit strategies. The Silicon Valley business is to essentially create innovation narratives they can sell without facing the consequences of poor business practices.

[gonzo41]

I always think about uber. The moment that they have to start treating drivers like employee's they can't make money because self driving cars are still a dream and the taxi business is cut throat and always has been.

[marcosdumay]

> the taxi business is cut throat and always has been

For drivers, yes. But in many cities the taxi system was engineered so that the owners of "positions" got lavish profit.

[JumpCrisscross]

> moment that they have to start treating drivers like employee's they can't make money

Revel, in New York, has employees and does fine.

[boh]

Define "does fine". Spending and losing VC money doesn't count.

[JumpCrisscross]

> Define "does fine". Spending and losing VC money doesn't count

Then Revel does fine.

[boh]

I'm guessing by the rhetorical nature of the response, the details of "fine" aren't clear.

[JumpCrisscross]

> the details of "fine" aren't clear

They’re not, particularly since “spending and losing VC money” is often tossed around Uber, which doesn’t make sense, since it’s no longer VC backed.

I’m interpreting your sentiment as having a cash-flow positive operating model. Ridesharing absolutely works on a fundamental level with enough gross profit to fairly compensate drivers. (It doesn’t if drivers can log on and off at will, nor in low-population density or poorer areas.)

[lanstin]

Many transit solutions are successful in NYC but not elsewhere.

[readthenotes1]

"bcs real companies can't pretend like they're capable of infinite growth"

WeWork is a real company and managed it for a while