The cost in itself isn't a barrier, but it compounds hidden network effects making it a problem. I paid for Threema this month while looking for WA alternative

The cost in itself isn't a barrier, but it compounds hidden network effects making it a problem. I paid for Threema this month while looking for WA alternatives. I had to pay the money just to find out that absolutely nobody in my contacts uses Threema. Was it a waste of money? Maybe, but I'm ok with being the first, most people would not be ok with that and I have a very real concern I'll never see a friend join me there, then it would be money wasted. WhatsApp charged its users to continue using it after a year, I wish Threema took this approach. I paid that money without issue because I already saw the value, so did a lot of people I know. So it's clearly not that people won't pay, but they need to show their customers it's worth it first.