MongoDB, Inc. (MDB)

MongoDB is a database that stores records as documents rather than table rows, sold as a cloud service.

Developers like it when the data structure changes alongside the application and needs no schema rework. Popularity grew from exactly that: the product spread bottom-up, through engineers' choices rather than management procurement. A free edition serves as the funnel; customers pay for the managed cloud service.

Cloud revenue grows with the load on a customer's applications, so a slowdown at the customer shows in results almost immediately — this is consumption-based income, not a fixed subscription. Risks: cloud platforms' own databases offered as the default, and corporate caution about budgets for new projects. The company is unprofitable on an accounting basis and pays no dividend.