I don't understand either the wild negativity or the wild...

I don't understand either the wild negativity or the wild positivity about FLN. They are doing a moderate level of steady growth, have no debt, and a decent amount of cash in the bank. I think it's weird to see people talking about how it will "obviously" be worth $1 or $2 or something in some short time-frame, but I don't understand the disappointment either.

FVRR and UPWK are completely different plays - they are venture-fueled/US-public-market-fueled rocketships - they will capture a big market share by practically giving away their services and hope that plays out. Should FLN do likewise? Maybe, but no-one should be outraged that they aren't - they've never telegraphed anything but exactly their current steady-growth strategy.

I think FLN has some problems - a recurring problem is a huge weakness in their management lineup after Matt Barrie (who is #2, and why?) and most detailed descriptions of their internal culture are... alarming. The tendency has been to promote people from within who don't have any serious experience anywhere else and then get rid of them every few years - the only people with any previous stature in FLN aside from MB are specialists in law/accounting/compliance.

However, I don't understand the sharp disappointment, especially after a couple decent quarters where they have shown that they can make money and tune their 'growth engine'.