The simple truth is that the public markets place a premium on growth. For example, plot a graph of growth rate on the x-axis and revenue multiple on the y-axis for all public enterprise cloud companies. You will see a direct correlation - higher growth leads to higher trading multiples. That's why startups prioritize growth over profitability. Now this only applies to startups which scale to the point of going public. I think Fred's points are valid and apply to the vast majority of startups (that won't go public). Food for thought.