How Many More Rounds Of Funding Can Companies Like Brightcove and The FeedRoom Get?

Talking with an analyst this morning got me thinking to just how many companies have recently gotten a third round of funding. Brightcove, Anystream, The FeedRoom and CacheLogic to name just a few.

How many more rounds of funding are investors willing to do before they ask to see some real revenue numbers and profitability? With online video being such a hot topic in the market, the pressure by investors on all vendors in this space has to be more than it was 12-18 months ago. With the market perception of online video being large than life, it’s still important to remember that few companies are really making a lot of money from this, yet. And in most cases, we don’t even know if they are breaking even. Since most companies don’t release any revenue numbers to the public, the perception of revenue being generated is complete speculation.

I know it’s not common for most companies to give out any revenue figures when they are private, but I think it would only help companies rather than hurt them. If your numbers are really that good and if you are a leader in the space like you say, then why not show how your revenue is growing? It’s not the year 2000 anymore when customers were buying services from vendors based on the perception of how big of a company they were. Today, as we have all clearly seen, size does not always equal quality in the market and a lot of smaller players in all sectors are actively closing business.

I don’t see the harm that comes from releasing your numbers. For one, myself and other members of the media would give you more coverage and would want to talk to you more about your business. And you’d be able to say you are profitable and actually have people believe you, instead of having to say the phrases I hear all day like "our business is growing", "we are exceeding our expectations" and my favorite, "our revenue is growing faster than we can keep up".

What other companies besides Limelight Networks are releasing numbers publicly even though they are private?