Well in the cable example it was from capital investors. But also, since the business was pulling in cash flow it could use its present customer revenue to immediately reinvest in expanding the business. So on paper the business would show little to no profit, probably even negative in some years, while the business was actually growing at 30% a year.
It's a riskier model for non-cash flow based businesses though, in my opinion. If you don't have a stable source of cash flow from something like a subscription model it's harder to count on revenue being consistent (unless you're dominating a particular market).
Also can be risky if you only have one or a few clients providing the cash flow. If they pull out or go belly up, your business can be decimated with whatever overhead you added to provide for them.
It's a riskier model for non-cash flow based businesses though, in my opinion. If you don't have a stable source of cash flow from something like a subscription model it's harder to count on revenue being consistent (unless you're dominating a particular market).
Also can be risky if you only have one or a few clients providing the cash flow. If they pull out or go belly up, your business can be decimated with whatever overhead you added to provide for them.