This seems to be particular for software businesses the require huge scale in order to operate. Uber is still not profitable, DoorDash is not profitable, Reddit is not profitable. The markets these companies are trying to serve are ginormous, and therefore require huge amounts of capital to efficiently scale. It's even more difficult for companies that combine real life with software, e.g. Toast, Uber, DoorDash.
Compare that to Netflix, which is a business that was able to start small and scale with time. It also had huge first mover advantages as most other profitable software businesses do. Network effects are extremely powerful, and benefit first movers. Uber has spent years trying to cultivate network effects, but the service it provides exists in the real world, with real people and real problems.
I would argue Reddit can be profitable if it knew how to properly scale and innovate with advertising (particularly via search, which is where Google makes its money). There's no real reason Reddit can't be profitable if Instagram, Google, and YouTube are profitable. As for real world software apps, it's a lot more difficult.
Compare that to Netflix, which is a business that was able to start small and scale with time. It also had huge first mover advantages as most other profitable software businesses do. Network effects are extremely powerful, and benefit first movers. Uber has spent years trying to cultivate network effects, but the service it provides exists in the real world, with real people and real problems.
I would argue Reddit can be profitable if it knew how to properly scale and innovate with advertising (particularly via search, which is where Google makes its money). There's no real reason Reddit can't be profitable if Instagram, Google, and YouTube are profitable. As for real world software apps, it's a lot more difficult.