News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets by mcguire on Sunday January 26, 2020 @06:04PM (#22155481)
You might think that, but errors and fluctuations tend to routinely cause high margin businesses such as software to collapse in large numbers. Think of the dotcom bust. I suspect part of the problem is these businesses flourish when the conditions are easy, but many don't have the experience or exceptional margins to survive long enough to adapt when conditions change.
Re:The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets by dragonwriter on Sunday January 26, 2020 @09:27PM (#22156421)
Perceived high-potential-margin businesses with lead time lead to speculative investment in low- (or negative-) margin businesses in the same field with perceived potential, which is sensitive to fluctuations in the broader investment climate (e.g., payoff timelines) or reassessment of profitability potential. That’s what the dotcom boom and bust were about.

The actual high-margin businesses wouldn't be taken out in the bust unless they were high margin only because they were selling into the boom.

Re:The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets by mcguire on Monday January 27, 2020 @02:42PM (#22162977)
"The actual high-margin businesses wouldn't be taken out in the bust unless they were high margin only because they were selling into the boom."

Exactly.

Re:The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets by lonelappde on Sunday January 26, 2020 @09:14PM (#22156363)
The dot com bust was negative margin businesses.
Re:The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets by imtringued on Monday January 27, 2020 @07:15AM (#22158614)
When I look at Uber I don't think anything has changed.