Check out my story on Facebook, called “Facebook’s Land Grab in the Face of a Downturn.” It’s about the startup’s audacious gamble to chase user growth in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
In the story, I report several scoops:
– To grow its user base, the company has lowered its revenue goals. In January, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook was shooting for revenues of $300 million to $350 million this year. But this spring, Zuckerberg and his board lowered the revenue target to $250 million to $300 million, say sources familiar with company finances.
– Despite intense speculation, the company is not running out of money. It has raised about $500 million and is “slightly cash-flow negative,” says Facebook director and investor Peter Thiel. At its current burn rate, he says, the company has enough cash for three or four years.
– The company is gearing up to do acquisitions, particularly of overseas foreign networks.
– The company is seriously considering a plan to take a cut of money from the software developers who create applications for the site. Vice-President Chamath Palihapitiya, disclosing the initiative for the first time, says the company may be able to help these startups generate more cash from advertising or e-commerce and then take a slice of that revenue.
Tags: Chamath Palihapitiya, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Sheryl Sandberg
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