What software can learn from deforestation
summary
Many big software markets persist for decades without profitability: Zillow (founded 2006) lost $158M last year while claiming 67% of home buyers use the site; Spotify (2008) rarely profits and had deep layoffs; Pinterest (2010) and Uber (2009) also scale before profits, Uber only breaking even after ~15 years. Proposal: require VCs to model impacts on competing firms, treat zero‑price growth as an early risk for startups, and have regulators curb companies that become invasive to markets rather than only monopolies.
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chapters (9)
- 0:00Introduction and context
- 2:28Deforestation analogy
- 3:50Software market failure
- 5:13Common grounds
- 6:14Sustainability challenges
- 6:47Case studies of companies
- 13:32Building better markets
- 13:54Proposals for change
- 19:26Q&A and final thoughts
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