An analogy
In respect to BOX IPO . If you go back a while,there was this rock band in the early sixties,that happened to be in the UK. These guys were playing music in hellish conditions,not making any headway for years. Then this man comes along that saw something others didn't . Mind you,they had a lot of competition in the same field. What made them different ? They used all this time learning their craft. Their competitors were not as diligent.
When their first record was released, it made no great shakes so their manager ( the guy that saw something,others didn't ) wound up manipulating the market or in biz speak " making a market " and bought enough of these records to put it on the charts.
The rest is history.
Yep ! BOX has been spending money from investors in the private sector. What have they been doing with all this money ? They have been honing their craft. Apparently they have something going on or these investors would have pulled the plug after the initial IPO was held at bay. Have they been consistently losing money by being frivolous ? I don't think so. Maybe they have been building a strong infrastructure,while others are playing catchup with their platform .
What differentiates BOX from others ?
Possibly they are the best at what they do.
Do they offer an elite service that costs more to maintain than the others ? Very possibly.
The fact that they have been around for ten years,in spite of losing money,must say something.
Is investing in an enterprise for the long term a bad thing ?
Could it be a quality service they offer ?
By virtue of that fact that the mainstay of BOX is a subscription service that has a very low attrition rate ,must leave one with the idea that the company is stable.
Look at some of the others that are projected to have an IPO this year.
Uber ? Let's see,they have Side Car and Lyft providing the same service and for all intents and purposes what differentiates Uber.
I can tell you.
I live in San Francisco.
Nothing.
In fact most that offer their car share also have Lyft and or SideCar as well on their radar ( smartphone ) .
The question is,who will dominate subscription services in the clouds?
One thing I have heard from everyone I have spoken to is the idea that BOX has only one major problem, but it is incidental to the company. That is brand name recognition with the hoi polloi.
With that said,they are not trying to capture that dollar,they are going after the big fish and if the recent developments of their client base keeps expanding ( BOX acquired GE after they had first filed and delayed their IPO )
We will get a glimpse Friday morning as to the skepticism being felt by investors .
PS. That band from England did quite well after years of struggling. The creme rises to the top,but leaves the skim to others.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
