For years we measured the success and future promise of a business with time-honoured valuation techniques; amongst other criteria, we looked at income and profit, the value of liabilities and assets, the potential market.

New-world companies don’t fit the bill; the likes of Airbnb, Uber, Alibaba, Facebook, Netflix, Niantic Labs and Snapchat are the fastest-growing companies the world has ever seen. Their growth is exponential, their assets are almost ephemeral, they shun all traditional economic models for valuations. The investments required to scale are almost negligible, their market size often unlimited, their shift from loss-making to profit can be almost immediate. Read More>>