4 ms·

Good for them. 17 engineers, 3 support reps and 2 founders, organic viral growth based strictly on product merits - my kind of startup. However. Now taking be

Good for them. 17 engineers, 3 support reps and 2 founders, organic viral growth based strictly on product merits - my kind of startup. However. Now taking bets which established IM company will sue them first and over which (trivial) patent. Perhaps after refusing their acquisition offer.

nupark2 15y ago
Good for them. 17 engineers, 3 support reps and 2 founders, organic viral growth based strictly on product merits - my kind of startup. Agreed. It's refreshing to see a startup that is actually in business to sell a product, rather than aiming for acquisition and trying to be the product.
unalone 15y ago
I'm concerned less about lawsuits and more about in-grown group messaging technology. iOS 5 just brought about half my friends/my entire family over to iMessages, which duplicate IM features like seeing the other person typing. It's so nifty that it makes me wish I had an iMessage interface on my computer, or an integration at least with iChat. And it makes me a much less likely user of mobile IM applications, because now I have a built-in equivalent that works without my searching out (or paying for) an application. Which is too bad, because I wish we had more start-ups this honest. Make something somebody wants, charge them at a rate they're willing to pay. I'm increasingly sick of advertising models, and of start-ups that start with funding and then move towards a profit model (which is usually advertising).
- justincormack 15y ago
  It is also encoraging to see a subscription business that is reasonable priced at $1-2 for 3 years, way under what people tell you is the viable minimum.
- coob 15y ago
  WhatsApp still has one thing going for it that 'in-grown' tech does not - interoperability. BBM and iMessages only work on those platforms, WhatsApp transcends them.
  - der_ketzer 15y ago
    The thing I don't like about WhatsApp vs BBM/iMessages is that I must share my phone number (at least I don't know another way) to chat. I think sharing a phone number is more personal than a pin like in BB.

nupark2 15y ago

Good for them. 17 engineers, 3 support reps and 2 founders, organic viral growth based strictly on product merits - my kind of startup. Agreed. It's refreshing to see a startup that is actually in business to sell a product, rather than aiming for acquisition and trying to be the product.

unalone 15y ago

I'm concerned less about lawsuits and more about in-grown group messaging technology. iOS 5 just brought about half my friends/my entire family over to iMessages, which duplicate IM features like seeing the other person typing. It's so nifty that it makes me wish I had an iMessage interface on my computer, or an integration at least with iChat. And it makes me a much less likely user of mobile IM applications, because now I have a built-in equivalent that works without my searching out (or paying for) an application. Which is too bad, because I wish we had more start-ups this honest. Make something somebody wants, charge them at a rate they're willing to pay. I'm increasingly sick of advertising models, and of start-ups that start with funding and then move towards a profit model (which is usually advertising).

justincormack 15y ago
It is also encoraging to see a subscription business that is reasonable priced at $1-2 for 3 years, way under what people tell you is the viable minimum.
coob 15y ago
WhatsApp still has one thing going for it that 'in-grown' tech does not - interoperability. BBM and iMessages only work on those platforms, WhatsApp transcends them.
- der_ketzer 15y ago
  The thing I don't like about WhatsApp vs BBM/iMessages is that I must share my phone number (at least I don't know another way) to chat. I think sharing a phone number is more personal than a pin like in BB.