Coca-Cola's valuation is 170 billion. Not only do they not solve any real problems, they actually create them. Same goes for every oil company in existence.
If you want to change the world in a more serious way, SnapChat's valuation should have as much of an impact on your determination as Coca-Cola's.
We owe the 20th century and virtually every convenience in our lives to the existence of petro-chemicals. There is absolutely no justification that oil companies "don't solve real problems".
I would go so far as to claim petro-chemicals are the single most important discovery in human history. (There are certainly downsides in the form of global warming, pollution and environmental damage, but you've completely ignored the massive upside).
I agree. That sentence was more about how very-valuable companies can not only be frivolous and create economic value (Coke), but can create real problems while creating economic value (Exxon).
It wasn't phrased perfectly, but I'll leave it now since several people have responded.
Coca-Cola isn't an idea, it's sugar water, something people have enjoyed for decades. SnapChat is a service that requires very little infrastructure when compared to Coca-Cola. Not to mention thousands of employed people vs a handful.
Watching a bunch of critical thinkers, developers and startups pull at straws trying to defend ridiculous payouts, evaluations and utopian end-games sounds more like 2009-era stock broker talk than it does anything positive or revolutionary.
huh? Providing value in a market has nothing to do having some direct and profound impact on society. They make drinks people like and are willing to pay for.
If you want to change the world in a more serious way, SnapChat's valuation should have as much of an impact on your determination as Coca-Cola's.