Following on from my post about Xero’s general release, and some comments I received in response, I got to thinking about peoples expectations. People generally and people in NZ specifically.

We seem to have this attitude that everything should happen yesterday (and I’m restless and as guilty of this as anyone). Let’s look at the facts in relation to Xero in particular;

  • The prospectus was very clear that revenue would be a medium term goal
  • Similarly it was clearly stated that there was a three year development window for Xero during which time resource would be put into systems, processes and capability building

And people are now (only a few months post listing) moaning about revenue streams and dividends.

Put t this way – I’m a father of young kids – I’d love for them to be at Med school and Law school right now (one of each thanks and I’m yet to decide on which specialities I’d like them to move into but I’m thinking Anaesthesia and resource management Law – no pressure though!) but that’s simply not viable.

Businesses, like kids, need time to grow, to develop and to mature before which too much pressure is counter productive.

It’s encapsulated in a doodle that a friend sent to me recently – enjoy!

applesthumbnail.jpg

Ben Kepes

Ben Kepes is a technology evangelist, an investor, a commentator and a business adviser. Ben covers the convergence of technology, mobile, ubiquity and agility, all enabled by the Cloud. His areas of interest extend to enterprise software, software integration, financial/accounting software, platforms and infrastructure as well as articulating technology simply for everyday users.

1 Comment
  • Thats a great doodle! I guess the problem Xero has is that the 3 year window is perceived as a long time. We all talk about how 3 years in ‘internet time’ is approximately forever. I think the reality however is that 3 years is not that long, things don’t change that quickly, and its a good window for a company with global goals. Im sure Xero could become profitable earlier if it focussed on the NZ market, but they have very clearly stated their goals to take on the world. If they said 3 years, and you bought the shares, the least that you can do is give them 3 years!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.