It is the essential flaw of the VC growth model based on advertising. Not just for communities like reddit but for all companies. They take on more investors and more control goes to people who really don't care too much about it.
I think we're at the stage now where a solo indie founder (or 2) could start a site like Reddit that could run very cheaply and then get monetized by paid subscribers.
Even just 0.5%-1% paid subscribers could support a site like that with the right infra.
Of course, you'd have to start out in one small niche and then gradually grow outward.
Comments
It is the essential flaw of the VC growth model based on advertising. Not just for communities like reddit but for all companies. They take on more investors and more control goes to people who really don't care too much about it.
I think we're at the stage now where a solo indie founder (or 2) could start a site like Reddit that could run very cheaply and then get monetized by paid subscribers.
Even just 0.5%-1% paid subscribers could support a site like that with the right infra.
Of course, you'd have to start out in one small niche and then gradually grow outward.