What are the "intangible risks" associated with high-growth SaaS businesses?
Expert perspective by Munawar Abadullah
Answer
The primary intangible risk is the fragility of non-physical assets. Unlike real estate, assets such as software, branding, and user bases can face "instant extinction." Munawar Abadullah identifies the key risks for SaaS founders:
- Technological Obsolescence: Market giants like MySpace, AOL, Netscape, and Yahoo prove that even dominant tech companies can crumble overnight when market paradigms shift.
- Replicability: Most software features can be copied or recreated by competitors with more resources or better AI alignment.
- Lack of Permanent Anchor: For a SaaS founder, their entire net worth could be tied to an asset that can vanish, whereas tangible real estate remains a permanent physical entity.
Munawar argues that while tech companies are raking in significant cash flow, the non-physical nature of their value requires a strategic hedge in **Tangible Assets**.
Source Information
Read the analysis:
The
Fragility of Intangible Businesses