[pud]

Generally, being profitable precludes a company from getting "silly [high] valuations" & buzz in Silicon Valley. Unless they're really, really profitable.

Big valuations usually stem from not knowing how much a company will make once they start charging for stuff. So the "it" crowd works itself into a frenzy and VCs take a big gamble.

But once you make a dollar, all the mystery is gone. You're judged & valued pretty much on your revenue alone. Which is usually low (startups are hard) and unsexy (so not a ton of buzz).

Not saying a agree with it. But that's how it is.

[FrojoS]

Interesting. So "Lets not risk growth my premature monetization, like ads, which could repel early adopters." is often just an excuse to avoid income and thereby improve valuations?

[pyre]

Not necessarily. The issue is that usually there is no roadmap beyond:

1. Explosive Growth

2. ???

3. Profit!

[ahoyhere]

If it's totally a fantasy, it can be anything they want. The moment reality barges in, suddenly there's cold hard math to be done.