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Comment by sabat | Hacker News Reader

That post is skewed and narrow-minded. Pandora is in places most people don't realize, and has growth opportunities the poster is not taking into account.

Remember, there's a big difference between a lifestyle business and a startup. A startup knows how to grow and do so creatively. A lifestyle business has no such inclination, and those involved with such efforts tend to think about other businesses in a narrow manner.

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Hahaha. That's your argument? "They're in many places and you wouldn't understand why they're so valuable if you have a <scoff> 'lifestyle' business".

How about dishing concrete examples of all these places they're in that's going to make them as astonishingly profitable as they need to be to justify a $2.5B valuation?

How about not assuming a company that just IPOed is at the end of its road but instead will continue innovating and finding new revenue streams? They did just raise $200MM after all.

I'd be more impressed if they could support themselves after 7 years and didn't need investments and an IPO to stay afloat.

Actually they've been previously profitable but keep putting money into expanding the business.

I actually think Pandora is going to turn out to be a nice, profitable business. But the valuation they're getting in the market is not that of a "nice, profitable business". It's one of a MASSIVELY profitable business throwing off hundreds of millions in profits. So far they haven't thrown off anything.

Hahaha. That's your argument?

Yes, my snarky friend, that's my argument. Given your years of experience running startups from conception to IPO/buyout, I'm sure you can understand.

BTW I don't scoff at all at lifestyle businesses, if you're lucky enough to pull one off. But they're a different beast, and expertise in one area does not automatically translate to expertise in another.

So to restate your argument, Pandora is a company capable of carrying out an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody knows what it is.

Does that sound fair?

It sounds distorted. Pandora is a huge brand name and is already in places you aren't aware of -- in part because you're probably not its target market.

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