Take a look around, perhaps some of the biggest companies around you are not software companies. They're perhaps engineering/infrastructure based companies. These companies really do rake in the billions but these billions did come at a price. Is it possible for a person like me with very little financial backing to be able to erect a infrastructure of that sort? The thought is almost Utopian.
On the other had there's software. 2 PhD students at Stanford created Google with little more than a PC and a great idea. Microsoft, Ebay, Yahoo, IBM, Oracle etc have been acquiring companies almost at will. These companies are mostly small firms which started out in a garage somewhere in the Bay Area. My point is this - in a software company, intellectual property is what is of prime importance. In order to create that intellectual property, the resources needed are basically a personal computer and some accessories around that. Now look at the returns on that. Agreed that perhaps 1 out of every 30-40 startups does any justice to the funding pumped into them, but if they do reach a certain level, the returns are healthy multiples of the investment. For e.g. Shopping.com, a 40+ person company was bought by Ebay for about 700 million. Now, assuming that abt 35 million went into the company, thats 20 times the investment. Thats a winner for you no matter what calculator you use.
No other domain affords you that opportunity to go out there with an idea that overnight becomes a resounding success, a household name, a brand.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
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Yeah there are other domains that have become overnight success aiding in the exploitation of many for the corporate benefit of a few: television and movie industry, Martha Stewart and Donald Trump's dumbo shows (we actually gave a white collar criminal her own TV show), automobile industry, oil companies, fashion industry, electronic manufacturers to make us victims of commodity fetishism and conspicuous consumption – hand in hand with PR firms and advertisement agencies. Making us dependent on useless gadgets no one needs. Like iPod (well ok that falls into software domain, but its useless nonetheless).
Point being, there have been and there still are quite a few other industries that have managed to become over night successes because of their timing and ingenuity in terms of coming up with a new idea. Doesn’t matter what it is. Software doesn’t really stand out as much if you really think about it. It also has a lot to do with the environment that is very conducive to such developments and their translation into actual tangible profit.
--> by Lili
The number of software companies that have come and gone, the number of milionaires that software startups have created and the nuumber of acquisitions within the software domain are all testament to the fact that software is a domain where the highs are really high and the lows are ,well,low. Most companies are started and sold within a span of 2-5 years. Where else would you see a return of this magnitude with such a low initial investment?
khud ki company kholne ka irrada hain kya??
looking at the creativity in the names of your post, agar maine koi company kholi...to uska naam-karan tere se hi karvaoonga :)
arre yaar! sirf naam rakhne ke liye mat yaad karna, company main job bhi dena bhaiyya ;-)
Wow and I thought talking in another language in front of someone who doesnt understand the language was rude. But apparently this goes for writing as well. :)
--> Lili
Well the post is still in a universally acceptable language. The comments need not be I'm thinking. And its just some old fashioned banter! Nothing worthwhile (No Offense Sumedh :-))!!).
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