[caseorganic]

While I follow your logic, there are a lot of companies out there like this. They're called "hidden champions" and modern industry has plenty of hidden stories like these. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_champions

The main point here is that companies like this might not be as sexy as the short term vc-funded explosive growth companies that are always in the news, but like small stars, they burn for a much longer time and are much more stable than the massive stars that quickly run out of fuel and turn into dwarfs and black holes later on.

Source: our company was bought by Esri last year, and before then I didn't really know the company existed. I was looking for a way to grow our technology in the long term, not evaporate like so many other companies had before.

[mathattack]

I'm not negative on the company, and am not taking a general stand for or against VC. (It's useful in some situations, but not all) It's just that what he presents as their secret sauce is also the formula for a lot of companies that never grow.

I'm intrigued by Esri, I just wish he'd give more detail on how they were truly different from those left behind.