unscalable business? The web 2.0 perspective

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kensuguro
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unscalable business? The web 2.0 perspective

Post by kensuguro »

I'm neck deep in the web 2.0 / social gaming industry and wanted to point out some funny things. The best of them all is this.
1. brick and mortar is unscalable (to them it means unprofitable)
2. everything has to be scalable.

Now let's look at the numbers. 80-90% of startups faill without making a single penny of profit. So, they're scalable but to a large degree, unprofitable. Yet every day, I see kids selling candy on the subway. They sell it for a dollar or two.. but definitely get it for less. PROFIT. Scalable? No, but a valid business? YES.

It's just funny to see the book heads go for the millions and get nothing (end up millions in the red), while the diligent worker makes a few bucks. Sure, not millions, but still some hard earned money. So what's scalable? What's profitable? I really see some irony in the web 2.0 / make $1 from 3 million people and become a millionaire mentality.

For me, I'm starting a knife sharpening service as a hobby. $10 for a chef's knife, sharpened with techniques that I learned from my grandpa in Japan who was a shrine carpenter (top tier carpenter). It's $10 per trade, with physical goods being worked on, and serious skills used for service. I think as long as humans live in the physical realm, physical economy will be strong.
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garyb
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Re: unscalable business? The web 2.0 perspective

Post by garyb »

i hope so.

real skills are the thing. you should never starve.
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valis
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Re: unscalable business? The web 2.0 perspective

Post by valis »

kensuguro wrote:It's just funny to see the book heads go for the millions and get nothing (end up millions in the red),
I wonder whose money the are playing with though...?
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Nestor
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Re: unscalable business? The web 2.0 perspective

Post by Nestor »

Selling your mp3 music versus gigs for instance.
*MUSIC* The most Powerful Language in the world! *INDEED*
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kensuguro
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Re: unscalable business? The web 2.0 perspective

Post by kensuguro »

They money usually come from investors.
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garyb
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Re: unscalable business? The web 2.0 perspective

Post by garyb »

oh, other people's money.

well that's the best scalability.
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Re: unscalable business? The web 2.0 perspective

Post by dawman »

But don't follow the Government models in Europe, or the USA.

"Eventually you run out of other people's money to spend" .......

Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady as Margeret Thatcher
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