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Well, they can start free, get 1M users, and then try to monetize. Or they can charge up front, get zero users, and then find something else to do with their t
by Nifty3929 4y ago
Well, they can start free, get 1M users, and then try to monetize.
Or they can charge up front, get zero users, and then find something else to do with their time.
- izacus 4y agoOr you know... bootstrap a non-predatory sustainable business. If anyone even knows how to do that in 2020s.
- lmm 4y agoThe problem is if you do that you get outcompeted by the VC-funded competitors who are happy to shovel money into a furnace for the first 1m+ users.
- JohnFen 4y agoIf you are competing with a bigger, better-funded fish, then the odds are very against you anyway as long as you're playing the same game as they are. Your real strength is to play a different game, one that leverages your unique strengths, not to meet them toe-to-toe in a game that leverages theirs. This can be done even if your product is in the same category as theirs. Exactly how to do that is highly dependent on you, so very individual (which is part of why it's so effective).
- lmm 4y agoIt's more like, you're competing against another business on the same footing. Both of you have the option of taking VC investment, which comes with significant downside but will give you a bunch of money in the short term. If your thesis is that the better-funded competitor always wins then the answer is that you should always take the money; I'm not quite that pessimistic, but I do think this specific blitzscaling playbook is something to be aware of.
- JohnFen 4y agoOr they can make the charging process and fees very clear, and give out free trials. Or, if the funding mechanism is to be ads, include them from day 1.
- wvenable 4y agoRight. If they charge up front and get zero users then their business model is wrong.