The platform paradox

Summary: The rise of platform businesses has rewritten the rules of investing. Profitability no longer guarantees dominance; scalability, network effects and user stickiness do. We explore how investors can adapt to this paradigm shift and identify platforms built to last, not just to hype. A fascinating shift has occurred in investment logic over the past decade. A generation of investors who once worshipped profits and cash flow has learned to embrace the idea that the best businesses might lose money for years before creating extraordinary wealth. It’s a shift that would have seemed heretical to many investors too long ago, yet here we are, watching institutional money flow into these companies. This transformation runs contrary to everything I’ve personally believed about investing, and I continue to remain a staunch advocate for real profits, but even the most hardened sceptic must acknowledge when market realities demand a fresh perspective. This transformation was inspired by the specta