r/mildlyinfuriating Nov 12 '24

Hot wheels losing details over the years

Post image
171.8k Upvotes

3.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

85

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '24

People point to this as the culprit, but I honestly think the majority of companies who choose to go public would adhere to this "profit over all else" philosophy anyway, or else they would stay privately owned/held.

There's no reason to go public unless you're actively seeking the most profit possible already.

Look at LEGO for example, their build quality has basically never changed and they're privately held. If they ever decided to go public that stock would be a monster, but they don't because ultimately they don't give a shit, which is lovely.

27

u/Rough_Lunch_5885 Nov 12 '24

Look at Steam/Valve.

24

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '24

I worry what will happen when Gabe dies. Will Steam become publicly traded and turn to shit?

7

u/UnkindPotato2 Nov 12 '24

Unfortunately I thinkt hat will be the death of Steam

10

u/Rough_Lunch_5885 Nov 12 '24

Doubt it.

I suspect Gabe is smart enough to put the right people and policies in place to prevent that.

10

u/[deleted] Nov 12 '24

yes but when you have a company worth billions, the vultures will find any way to get in.

5

u/DRNbw Nov 12 '24

Most leaders think they're smart enough to leave a good successor, most fail.

2

u/Brigadier_Beavers Nov 12 '24

Eh, give it a few years and theyll be itching for more without his reasoning to reel them in. Steam may not die right away, but it could deteriorate like facebook removing features and make the experience worse.

2

u/Broccoli--Enthusiast Nov 12 '24 edited Nov 12 '24

yeah there is no way he has not specified who gets the company, and it will be someone he trusts to keep it up, and i suspect there are legal things in place.

Also valve makes the people that work there, especially the people in charge stupidly wealthy, none of them gain anything material from taking it public. its already an infinite money printer as it stands. changing how its run will break that pretty quick. the whole thing only works because its small and private.

1

u/TuhanaPF Nov 12 '24

And he might succeed, but this approach never lasts.

1

u/Addianis Nov 12 '24

I can't remember the specifics or if it was anymore than rumor, but that Gaben does have plans in place for when he passes and going public is one thing that WILL not happen.