Not to mention the increasing programming and admin staff they HAVE accumulated to keep the wheels turning. It doesn't happen on its own! At some point external revenue of some kind has to be factored into the equation.

And yes, it does need to make a profit as the platform does have costs and those costs are going to rise over time as a result of external marketplace factors. That profit can either be drawn out by the original creators and developers of the platform or left in to fund ongoing development and expansion.

I think it's interesting that I have not yet been able to find anywhere I have searched any succinct explanation or disclosure by the platform creators of current funding sources other than references to those who are prepared to pay to acquire STEEM and Ned Scott's vague reference to a so called "angel" investor.

That is most definitely not a viable long term model scenario.

Having said that I think the Steemit platform is an interesting and fascinating creation that does have the potential to develop into a global community and mutual aid user platform that has the potential to shift some of the wealth being generated from personal information and content creation back to the user base that has to date been forced or coerced into giving up their rights to that information.