Erin Griffith calls shenanigans on the overheated tech marketplace. Is she presaging a real bust, or is this a hiccup?
All that crazy explosive insane startup growth was too good to be true.
Maybe not all of it. But a lot of it. In late 2015, the world started taking a closer, more critical look at the startups we idolize. Are they really creating jobs? Are these jobs we even want? Are startups the underdogs or the bullies? Is their revenue real? Are their products real?
Under the harsh light of reality, many startups were forced to come back to earth. There were reports of missed targets at Zenefits, share markdowns at Snapchat, a cash crunch at Jet, an executive exodus at Rent the Runway. Dropbox faces doubts about its revenue potential. Theranos is losing business deals. And don’t forget WeWork’s highly risky real estate deals, and unrealized revenue projections at Lyft. Flipboard failed to find a buyer. Square priced its IPO underwater. Zirtual and Homejoy abruptly shut down.
Some of this is market consolidation, like Dropbox’s slippiing valuation. The file sync-and-share market is moving toward zero price, and dominated by Internet giants (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon) who can subsidize free file management as part of larger objectives. Some is oversupply in other sectors – like Lyft, Jet, and SnapChat.
But as a whole, I agree that we will hear a ‘Bang!’ in 2016, and only the big, well-established, and post-startup companies are likely to prevail.
from Stowe Boyd http://stoweboyd.com/post/136609265732
