Now the idea of Silicon Valley's investment community — which brought you Pets.com and other Web wonders — wagging fingers and noting that others are driving irrational valuations might strike some people as, well, funny.
The irrational valuations of the bubble haven't yet been replaced by more dispassionate traditional models.
When MAF economists were faced with somewhat irrational valuations in the tender round it still took a fair amount of computing power to figure some fair prices.
Luminaries across the industry have chimed in, suggesting we're returning to a time of irrational investment valuations hearkening back to the bubble of the late 90s.
No, its just a recognition of the fact that the crowd can become irrational, producing valuations that anyone not caught up in the frenzy can see are too high or too low.
There are three important psychological reasons for the seemingly irrational nature of valuations in the tech start-up world.
The danger in such a herd mentality is that share prices start to be driven by non-professionals, acting on all sorts of irrational beliefs about valuations.
In a tersely-worded statement, the royal said his legal action was a "necessary and appropriate response" to Forbes's "irrational and deeply flawed valuation methodology, which is ultimately subjective and discriminatory".
We have a lower risk to see valuations reach "irrational exuberance" levels and that is good for everyone (entrepreneurs / investors / acquirers) because at one time or another reality reasserts itself – and that's painful for both investors and entrepreneurs.
Analysts observe that, high though many of the prices seem, and irrational in terms of traditional valuation methods, they simply reflect supply and demand.Mark Hardie, an analyst with the high-tech consultancy Forrester Research, does not believe, in any case, that the enthusiasm for Broadcast.com has been overdone.
