5 ms·

The Figures Behind The Top Web Apps

17 points by danw 20y ago

brett 20y ago
This is precisely the kind of data I always am hoping to hear about but almost never do.
- python_kiss 20y ago
  It seems the lawyers take away more money than the development process! eek
  - jamongkad 20y ago
    Not with all but yeah they do take away a sizeable chunk of the budget. What I want to know is who funded these businesses...
far33d 20y ago
While, in dollars, founder time and equity don't cost anything, in real terms, they do. Unfortunately, even in public companies, there isn't a good way to really account for these numbers... So I believe the bigger numbers (Mobissimo, Wesabe) are more indicative of the "real" costs of starting a business. For instance, if I were start and self-fund a new business, the development and design costs would be zero, but I'd be paying rent, eating food, paying for gas, etc etc, since I'd be working full time. For a real account of the overall costs, I'd have to take those expenses as "salary" in my overall cost evaluation.
- run4yourlives 20y ago
  Drop-send's cost are quite accurate. He paid for developer and design time on contract.
far33d 20y ago
I meant for the labor components of the "build", not maintenance, costs.
run4yourlives 20y ago
If you really look at those numbers, they become really "interesting". The only application making a profit is drop-send. (Sorry, "top secret" = "not enough" for me) Some of those sites have some outrageous costs indicative of major VC involvement. On the surface, none of them (aside from freshbooks) seem like a very good way to make money either. Granted this is my highly subjective take, but I see it as this: Drop-Send - Profitable, traded high expectations for more secure results... may have competition problems in the future, which is probably why its for sale. It has a great potential though, and room to move in the cost to profit area to compete. Freshbooks - Good looking app, should be able to pay for itself... ridiculously high monthly costs are a liability. Maya's Mom - Great Idea, better have a killer idea to make money off of it though, I don't think ads will cut it. Mobissimo - Not promising in my mind.. already need to explain in words how they're different from expedia and travelocity. Not a good sign. Wesabe - Interesting concept, but there's no way in hell I'd give them my account information. That's a big leap of faith for a start-up to ask of their customers.

17 points by danw 20y ago

brett 20y ago

This is precisely the kind of data I always am hoping to hear about but almost never do.

python_kiss 20y ago
It seems the lawyers take away more money than the development process! eek
- jamongkad 20y ago
  Not with all but yeah they do take away a sizeable chunk of the budget. What I want to know is who funded these businesses...

far33d 20y ago

While, in dollars, founder time and equity don't cost anything, in real terms, they do. Unfortunately, even in public companies, there isn't a good way to really account for these numbers... So I believe the bigger numbers (Mobissimo, Wesabe) are more indicative of the "real" costs of starting a business. For instance, if I were start and self-fund a new business, the development and design costs would be zero, but I'd be paying rent, eating food, paying for gas, etc etc, since I'd be working full time. For a real account of the overall costs, I'd have to take those expenses as "salary" in my overall cost evaluation.

run4yourlives 20y ago
Drop-send's cost are quite accurate. He paid for developer and design time on contract.

far33d 20y ago

I meant for the labor components of the "build", not maintenance, costs.

run4yourlives 20y ago

If you really look at those numbers, they become really "interesting". The only application making a profit is drop-send. (Sorry, "top secret" = "not enough" for me) Some of those sites have some outrageous costs indicative of major VC involvement. On the surface, none of them (aside from freshbooks) seem like a very good way to make money either. Granted this is my highly subjective take, but I see it as this: Drop-Send - Profitable, traded high expectations for more secure results... may have competition problems in the future, which is probably why its for sale. It has a great potential though, and room to move in the cost to profit area to compete. Freshbooks - Good looking app, should be able to pay for itself... ridiculously high monthly costs are a liability. Maya's Mom - Great Idea, better have a killer idea to make money off of it though, I don't think ads will cut it. Mobissimo - Not promising in my mind.. already need to explain in words how they're different from expedia and travelocity. Not a good sign. Wesabe - Interesting concept, but there's no way in hell I'd give them my account information. That's a big leap of faith for a start-up to ask of their customers.