New analogy?
My internet buddies Singh and Wildman told me to take at look at this company. Wildman even EMd me the "parking meter analogy" explanation for WAVX which I think came from way back in this thread.
In any event, I think the parking meter analogy is OK, but it does not fully capture WAVX. The parking meter analogy does capture the enormity of the market, but it falls short becasue WAVX market is not a mandatory market, you don't have to use WAVX to use your computer, but you have to pay the meter if you drive. ANd your choice of parking is limited. Finally, the analogy implies HUGE infrastructure costs to set up millions of meters, pave the road, fix the parking lots, etc. And there is no barrier to entry, anybody can be hired to collect the coins, just pay off the city council.
I think a better analogy is the vending machine. The consumer has a choice between Zagnut bar, granola and Diet Coke, etc. There is no limit to how many candy bars you can buy, or you can choose not to buy at all. You can leave the building to get your lunch if you wish (like going to a store to buy software), but if you are lazy or busy, you can go to the vending machine in your building. The infrastructure costs are not as great. You don't need as many vending machines as parking meters to produce the same amount of revenue. You might need a thousand parking meters to make $1,000, but you may need only 10 vending machines to make that much, so your unit costs are cheaper.
The other thing that intrigues me is the high barriers to entry. Companies like DCLK and Amazon.com annoy me. Anybody can start a company like this, even I could. So their huge valuations just mystify me. But WAVX reminds me alot of ATHM or better yet MSFT: Once your infrastructure is in place, it would be very tough for somebody else to break into the business. WAVX handles both the technology and distribution. Once their chips go into boxes, there is a natural inclination to use WAVX database and commercial consolidation services. YOu may have a choice over what you try and buy, but you won't have much choice over who bundles the choices for you!
Interesting....
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