While you address the specific example of Sotheby's vs Whatnot. You don't really address the overall societal observation. We have become a nation where perceived potential has become more important than any actual value.
The American dream was once to build something and hopefully pass it on to your kids as your legacy. Now it seems the goal in life is to build something simply to get it to a point to sell it, and if you're very good at that, lather rinse and repeat. As indicated above, I know the line of thought is old-fashioned, but it makes me sad that the idea of creating, nurturing and growing something is less important than grabbing cash at the earliest opportunity.
Shows like Shark Tank simply reinforce the idea. Doesn't anyone want to actually live in the condo anymore?
Of course this is an easy attitude for me to take, nobody's offering me life changing money for my company, but I love what I'm doing, I love the whole process of building something from nothing. I can't imagine anyone would offer me enough to walk away from that (and rightfully so, my company isn't WORTH what it would take to get me to walk away).
My problem when I start a discussion like this is focus. I want to talk about the macro and then give a million somewhat different examples which then lead me off on tangents. But overall, my point is that all modern markets seem analogous to me. They are largely based on speculation and the biggest sucker principle. Whether it's Pets.com, a condo in Florida, Logoman Kobe/Jordan, or any other market you can think of I just see a giant game of musical chairs and wonder what happens when the music stops.
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