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I have well over 10 customers. I want to take my startup to the next level

drtse4 16y ago
Since it looks like that all your apps are free, do you use iAds somewhere? If you plan to build new paid apps, what about promoting them to your existing user base?
- PaulJoslin 16y ago
  There is at least one premium app there, brain tuner premium. That has 87,000 'new customers' (whatever it means by new?) so around $87,000 revenue.
  - drtse4 16y ago
    That's definitely not bad considering that from what i read is not so easy anymore to sell apps in the store. But considering that the app is on the store since '09 it isn't one of those big instant AppStore hits, so i guess that the OP is aiming at seriously start building an app that has some potential to become one of those. Additional info would be appreciated.
- revorad 16y ago
  He charges for at least four of his apps - http://itunes.apple.com/app/wordbreaker/id322472501?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/app/wordbreaker/id322472501?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/app/pitch-pipe/id290029129?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/app/pitch-pipe/id290029129?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/app/opensesame/id336671252?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/app/opensesame/id336671252?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/color-identifier/id363346987?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/color-identifier/id363346987?...
ctb9 16y ago
I believe the concept of 10 customers, as used (invented?) by Jason Cohen, refers to willingly-paying users for some type of premium/freemium service. That said, you seem awesomely successful, and I love the idea of taking your venture to the 'next level' by recruiting and training others to join you.
dLuna 16y ago
This post makes me wonder what question the author is posing. Yes, you want to take your startup to the next level. Do you want help? Do you just want to tell us? Do you want recommendations? Sounds like some really successful apps. Add some ads or start charging, and you are set.
- greengarstudios 16y ago
  Help and recommendations are appreciated :) My apps already contain some ads, and I have some paid apps as well.
michael_dorfman 16y ago
Even though most of them have only used my free apps, I technically have millions of customers No, you don't. Really. You have millions of users. "Customers" are the people who have paid for your apps. Keep this distinction in mind.
- StavrosK 16y ago
  Yep, exactly. Customer = person who paid for your stuff.
- jacquesm 16y ago
  I'm not so sure the line is that hard. A customer is someone that you are making money of, or maybe even someone that you intend to make money of. Not someone that pays for your apps, and where would that leave services, goods and other things that people pay for? If you're in a long term relationship with a large number of people and they don't pay you but you are making money off them in a different (for instance indirect) way they are as critical to your bottom line as paying people would be. Free does not always mean you have no customers, free can mean you have customers but the price is $0. So, technically the guy has a sales funnel with 1 million people in it that need to be converted to paying customers. If that distinction did not exist we'd never have to use the word 'paying' attached to customers in that context.
  - tomjen3 16y ago
    I can sort of understand why you would say that in a fremium situation every person who signed up is a customer, but if you make money via ads, your customer is whomever pay you for the ad space - not your users.
    - jacquesm 16y ago
      As soon as you stop treating your users as though they are your customers though you'll find out that the users view is a different one. Calling them (or their data) a 'product' as I've seen some people do is really not the proper way to treat people. If people pay you for ad space then they're your customers too, and will need to be treated as such. But that does not change the other side much. And plenty of companies have a freemium product and ads at the same time.
dglassan 16y ago
What exactly do you mean when you say "I make what customers want, not what they say they want." If what they say they want isn't actually what they want,, then how do you know what they want?
- greengarstudios 16y ago
  I learn what they want by observing them and considering their desires. I look at what they do and how they behave. Add in some intuition and luck, and that's pretty close to what I've done so far.

Since it looks like that all your apps are free, do you use iAds somewhere? If you plan to build new paid apps, what about promoting them to your existing user base?

PaulJoslin 16y ago
There is at least one premium app there, brain tuner premium. That has 87,000 'new customers' (whatever it means by new?) so around $87,000 revenue.
- drtse4 16y ago
  That's definitely not bad considering that from what i read is not so easy anymore to sell apps in the store. But considering that the app is on the store since '09 it isn't one of those big instant AppStore hits, so i guess that the OP is aiming at seriously start building an app that has some potential to become one of those. Additional info would be appreciated.
revorad 16y ago
He charges for at least four of his apps - http://itunes.apple.com/app/wordbreaker/id322472501?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/app/wordbreaker/id322472501?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/app/pitch-pipe/id290029129?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/app/pitch-pipe/id290029129?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/app/opensesame/id336671252?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/app/opensesame/id336671252?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/color-identifier/id363346987?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/color-identifier/id363346987?...

ctb9 16y ago

I believe the concept of 10 customers, as used (invented?) by Jason Cohen, refers to willingly-paying users for some type of premium/freemium service. That said, you seem awesomely successful, and I love the idea of taking your venture to the 'next level' by recruiting and training others to join you.

dLuna 16y ago

This post makes me wonder what question the author is posing. Yes, you want to take your startup to the next level. Do you want help? Do you just want to tell us? Do you want recommendations? Sounds like some really successful apps. Add some ads or start charging, and you are set.

greengarstudios 16y ago
Help and recommendations are appreciated :) My apps already contain some ads, and I have some paid apps as well.

michael_dorfman 16y ago

Even though most of them have only used my free apps, I technically have millions of customers No, you don't. Really. You have millions of users. "Customers" are the people who have paid for your apps. Keep this distinction in mind.

StavrosK 16y ago
Yep, exactly. Customer = person who paid for your stuff.
jacquesm 16y ago
I'm not so sure the line is that hard. A customer is someone that you are making money of, or maybe even someone that you intend to make money of. Not someone that pays for your apps, and where would that leave services, goods and other things that people pay for? If you're in a long term relationship with a large number of people and they don't pay you but you are making money off them in a different (for instance indirect) way they are as critical to your bottom line as paying people would be. Free does not always mean you have no customers, free can mean you have customers but the price is $0. So, technically the guy has a sales funnel with 1 million people in it that need to be converted to paying customers. If that distinction did not exist we'd never have to use the word 'paying' attached to customers in that context.
- tomjen3 16y ago
  I can sort of understand why you would say that in a fremium situation every person who signed up is a customer, but if you make money via ads, your customer is whomever pay you for the ad space - not your users.
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    As soon as you stop treating your users as though they are your customers though you'll find out that the users view is a different one. Calling them (or their data) a 'product' as I've seen some people do is really not the proper way to treat people. If people pay you for ad space then they're your customers too, and will need to be treated as such. But that does not change the other side much. And plenty of companies have a freemium product and ads at the same time.

dglassan 16y ago

What exactly do you mean when you say "I make what customers want, not what they say they want." If what they say they want isn't actually what they want,, then how do you know what they want?

greengarstudios 16y ago
I learn what they want by observing them and considering their desires. I look at what they do and how they behave. Add in some intuition and luck, and that's pretty close to what I've done so far.