Online storage outfit Dropbox’s CEO Drew Houston says the company is now cash-flow positive and will also soon turn a profit. Since attaining a US$10 billion valuation from investors in 2014, Dropbox has become a darling of the start-up market.
Houston has declared that “we’re entering the post-unicorn era.” Unicorn start-ups ie, those valued at US$1 billion or more – will need to focus on creating healthier businesses as venture capital and other sources of private-market funds dry up, he said at a Bloomberg Technology Conference in San Francisco.
“In these boom times, you get really disconnected from the fundamentals,” he said. “Cash is oxygen, and if you keep having to go to investors to fill up your scuba tank, you can run out.”
Houston said Dropbox is free-cashflow positive, but not yet profitable, despite increasing sales to businesses and consumers.
