[spaceman_2020]

I also think that tech is moving very fast, and startups with 10+ years of unprofitable existence without any potential exit are going to get disrupted by newer players.

The current crop of startups have largely been pioneers, but usually, the settlers take away the bulk of the spoils.

In India, Uber got everyone used to the idea of app based cabs. Now newer players are eating away Uber’s lunch with newer models and without having to spend any money on educating customers or drivers.

[dehrmann]

> startups with 10+ years of unprofitable existence without any potential exit are going to get disrupted by newer players.

It depends how unprofitable. Well-established products like Twitter and Reddit are big, have an established user base, and while not particularly profitable, I also don't see them getting disrupted by a rising competitor.

[snordgren]

They are social media sites, the textbook example of the network effect.

Them not being very profitable is almost like a moat in itself - not only is it hard to displace them, it's probably not profitable to do so either.

[KerrAvon]

Mastodon — which is a non-profit — is nibbling away at Twitter.