$150 seems expensive. It would be better if you create a service based on kwolla that allows users to easily setup their own social network. You host the social

$150 seems expensive. It would be better if you create a service based on kwolla that allows users to easily setup their own social network. You host the social network for them, and charge a monthly fee like $9.00 starter and premium $39 etc. The thing is that most average users don't like to setup and config servers, thats why email services and blogging services are so popular. Hackers are usually the early adopters and they are the ones that will recommend your product to mainstream users, but the thing is that hackers don't like paying for software. Hackers don't like licenses. I think its a good idea to make kwolla open source, so that users can host it themselves for free or pay you to host it for them and provide support. Making it open source also helps you develop a community around the product. You get users contributing code, fixing bugs, writing documentation, beta testing new features etc. With open source you also get viral distribution, lots of goodwill and free marketing. This is similar to Automattic's business model with Wordpress and Wordpress.com.