And with all that money on the line. Amazing....isn't it.
You'd be surprised at the assumptions made to justify a flawed business plan. The "it's cool and makes me feel good" factor should never be underestimated!
Look at the bankruptcies of Iridium and Globalstar satellite systems, for example. They were among several companies (including similar satellite systems that never got off the ground) who assumed that they'd be able to tap that huge untapped customer base in the equatorial regions, where most of the world's population lives (in abject poverty, for the most part).
The rational business mind says that if they don't have land-lines now, they don't have the money to buy into an expensive satellite system. Another rational business mind might have pointed out that cell phone systems are a lot cheaper to build and maintain than a big constellation of satellites. Either way, a little sustained thought would have told those folks that the idea wouldn't make any money.
But, just as with bio-fuels, the touchy-feely aspects of "serving the under-served" was a huge factor in those companies' thinking.
They got billions of dollars in investment capital, and of course it all evaporated. But it sounded cool at the time.
It isn't the original numbers but the escalation that happens when they run feed stock demand up...