7 ms·

Why is DropBox Thriving?

47 points by dcancel 17y ago

brown9-2 17y ago
Article kind of seems like linkbait - the author seems to ask the question "What makes an online service successful?" but of course doesn't provide any specific answers or really anything specific about Dropbox at all. Surprise surprise, the same things that make an offline service successful are what make an online service successful too.
- volida 17y ago
  The title given on HN is different from the original which is "Why Do Some Online Services Thrive?".
iamwil 17y ago
Well, one thing is that it stands out in my mind as best of class. So if someone asked me about file syncing, they come to mind. Whenever people want to share files, I tell them about dropbox.
- bhousel 17y ago
  Agreed about the "it just comes to mind" aspect of the site. I think it really helps that they picked such a great name for the service. It's easy to remember and tell others, and the name describes exactly what it does. I'm sure this has been a factor in the speed at which they're signing on new users. Dropbox is one of the best examples of great product naming that I can think of.
mdasen 17y ago
It's thriving because it just works. Works when you're offline. Works if you try to save conflicting copies of a file. Works if you accidentally delete a file. Works if you need to retrieve an old version of a file. Works if your internet connection is spotty. Rather than punting on the hard issues and creating another WebDAV-like service, they actually created something that just works.
- njharman 17y ago
  It more than just works. It works awesomely across multiple platforms. It's simple (automatic) to use but not simplistic. Its power ramps up when you need it (file recovery) and fades away when you don't. It doesn't get in the way (with advertising, installing crapware, charging micropayments, proprietary restrictions/formats, etc.)
  - pxlpshr 17y ago
    Couldn't have said it better. I think this was pretty shallow analysis by the author, but to his very first point - I do think it's the elephant in the room for a lot of startups. One of the most consistent pieces of advice/feedback I've heard from serial entrepreneurs and VCs is to stay razor focus.
  - brlewis 17y ago
    Multi-platform is key. Shared folders can be used to collaborate not just with people, but with Linux servers too. I let users send files to my site by sharing a folder with it. I predict a lot of services will do that in the future. It's an easy way to give people offline functionality.
  - cdr 17y ago
    It might work "awesomely" one some platforms, but the Nautilus integration is pretty buggy - it was a nightmare to try to get it working on my Ubunutu 09.04. I ended up having to just use the command line utility a user wrote.
    - brlewis 17y ago
      Odd. I had no trouble on Ubuntu 9.04.
- jseliger 17y ago
  Seriously. I left a comment on the host blog observing that points 2, 3, and 4 are basically the same, and can be summarized as: it's insanely easy to use. I set up Dropbox in about 20 seconds, and it did exactly what it said it would. Compared to every other synchronization tool I've ever used, Dropbox wins not by meters, but by miles.
andr 17y ago
It must be noted that Dropbox solves a problem that Microsoft has been trying to solve for decades. Ever since the MS DOS LAN Manager, MSFT has been working on a file synchronization and sharing solution (and they are only beginning to tackle the synchronization part). SMB, Microsoft Groove, SharePoint, SkyDrive (aka LiveDrive), LiveMesh, Windows LiveSync (aka Folder Share), SyncToy, and even Briefcase, are different attempts at solving the same problem. Still, my Mac and my Windows 7 PC sitting on the same desk won't talk to each other and Dropbox is the only thing that works.
10ren 17y ago
Here's why the founder (and pg) thought it could thrive: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=801503 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=801503
dhughes 17y ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oRy-vM1OQs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oRy-vM1OQs Couldn't have said it better myself, including the "actually no maybe not" part when going into my pictures folder ;) Even with 25GB versus 2GB, Dropbox is more popular.
fjabre 17y ago
Given their quick growth I'm curious to know what kind of marketing they did initially or what their main strategy was for getting the word out.
- bmelton 17y ago
  Love 'em or hate 'em, I initially heard about Dropbox on Techcrunch.com. I immediately signed up for the free 2Gb account (as I usually sign up for almost anything free). I think it was a couple of weeks later before I ever got around to installing it on a second PC and actually using the sync functionality across boxes, and probably a day or so after that their usability and overall perfection convinced me to buy.
maxwin 17y ago
How many of the 2 million users are paying customers? Is dropbox losing money for now because of the 2GB it gives out for free? I believe dropbox will make money but right now it seems that it is still burning money.
- zzleeper 17y ago
  Of the two million, half are inactive. Of the rest, most are not close to 2gb or use it lightly, so it´s not that expensive. Things like LAN-sync will also help driving down costs. Overall, I think that even if they are still burning money, they could stop doing that and go positive quickly.
- hyperbovine 17y ago
  2gb of storage costs $.24 a month on S3, and you figure they only average about half full. Call it an even $.50 with data transfer costs, and you've got just one paying customer (at $9.99/month) subsidizing ~15 free users. A 1-in-15 conversion rate seems like a modest goal. They may not be losing any money at all.
  - netsp 17y ago
    I use dropbox and am happy with it. I save files to it every day. I share files using it about once a fortnight and I grab files via the web app about once in 2-3 months. I'm at 23.1% of 2.5 GB. I don't think I will upgrade soon unless I start to use two machines regularly. I would guess less per average free user (maybe as low as $2 per year). I would guess that 1/15 conversion is also a high estimate. But I might convert in a few years time. I imagine that it'll take another year or two before they really know what conversion rates look like.
Steve0 17y ago
Just want to note they give users the incentive of extra space when a friend joins and installs the application. They also have a nice tracking tool to 'spy' on which people showed interest and how far in the registration-process they got.
dawie 17y ago
Dropbox also has a bit of secret sauce. They have some technology that can pick up which bits changed in a file and only sync those (which makes their service way faster than others)
- hyperbovine 17y ago
  librsync (http://sourceforge.net/projects/librsync/ http://sourceforge.net/projects/librsync/) does this. It's LGPL'd so I wouldn't be surprised if they were using it. Certainly a lot simpler than reinventing the wheel.
rms 17y ago
They made something you want to tell your friends about. I noticed people started using it (independently from me) at my engineering college last year and by now shared Dropbox folders are widely used on group projects.
mtholking 17y ago
I think it is thriving because is simple and transparent. Users dont have to learn how to use a new application if they don't need the advanced features. They just drop files into folders like they always have. It was perfect solution for integrating version control for my diverse team of designers(macs), developers(linux) and everyone else(windows).

47 points by dcancel 17y ago

Article kind of seems like linkbait - the author seems to ask the question "What makes an online service successful?" but of course doesn't provide any specific answers or really anything specific about Dropbox at all. Surprise surprise, the same things that make an offline service successful are what make an online service successful too.

volida 17y ago
The title given on HN is different from the original which is "Why Do Some Online Services Thrive?".

iamwil 17y ago

Well, one thing is that it stands out in my mind as best of class. So if someone asked me about file syncing, they come to mind. Whenever people want to share files, I tell them about dropbox.

bhousel 17y ago
Agreed about the "it just comes to mind" aspect of the site. I think it really helps that they picked such a great name for the service. It's easy to remember and tell others, and the name describes exactly what it does. I'm sure this has been a factor in the speed at which they're signing on new users. Dropbox is one of the best examples of great product naming that I can think of.

mdasen 17y ago

It's thriving because it just works. Works when you're offline. Works if you try to save conflicting copies of a file. Works if you accidentally delete a file. Works if you need to retrieve an old version of a file. Works if your internet connection is spotty. Rather than punting on the hard issues and creating another WebDAV-like service, they actually created something that just works.

njharman 17y ago
It more than just works. It works awesomely across multiple platforms. It's simple (automatic) to use but not simplistic. Its power ramps up when you need it (file recovery) and fades away when you don't. It doesn't get in the way (with advertising, installing crapware, charging micropayments, proprietary restrictions/formats, etc.)
- pxlpshr 17y ago
  Couldn't have said it better. I think this was pretty shallow analysis by the author, but to his very first point - I do think it's the elephant in the room for a lot of startups. One of the most consistent pieces of advice/feedback I've heard from serial entrepreneurs and VCs is to stay razor focus.
- brlewis 17y ago
  Multi-platform is key. Shared folders can be used to collaborate not just with people, but with Linux servers too. I let users send files to my site by sharing a folder with it. I predict a lot of services will do that in the future. It's an easy way to give people offline functionality.
- cdr 17y ago
  It might work "awesomely" one some platforms, but the Nautilus integration is pretty buggy - it was a nightmare to try to get it working on my Ubunutu 09.04. I ended up having to just use the command line utility a user wrote.
  - brlewis 17y ago
    Odd. I had no trouble on Ubuntu 9.04.
jseliger 17y ago
Seriously. I left a comment on the host blog observing that points 2, 3, and 4 are basically the same, and can be summarized as: it's insanely easy to use. I set up Dropbox in about 20 seconds, and it did exactly what it said it would. Compared to every other synchronization tool I've ever used, Dropbox wins not by meters, but by miles.

andr 17y ago

It must be noted that Dropbox solves a problem that Microsoft has been trying to solve for decades. Ever since the MS DOS LAN Manager, MSFT has been working on a file synchronization and sharing solution (and they are only beginning to tackle the synchronization part). SMB, Microsoft Groove, SharePoint, SkyDrive (aka LiveDrive), LiveMesh, Windows LiveSync (aka Folder Share), SyncToy, and even Briefcase, are different attempts at solving the same problem. Still, my Mac and my Windows 7 PC sitting on the same desk won't talk to each other and Dropbox is the only thing that works.

10ren 17y ago

Here's why the founder (and pg) thought it could thrive: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=801503 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=801503

dhughes 17y ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oRy-vM1OQs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oRy-vM1OQs Couldn't have said it better myself, including the "actually no maybe not" part when going into my pictures folder ;) Even with 25GB versus 2GB, Dropbox is more popular.

fjabre 17y ago

Given their quick growth I'm curious to know what kind of marketing they did initially or what their main strategy was for getting the word out.

bmelton 17y ago
Love 'em or hate 'em, I initially heard about Dropbox on Techcrunch.com. I immediately signed up for the free 2Gb account (as I usually sign up for almost anything free). I think it was a couple of weeks later before I ever got around to installing it on a second PC and actually using the sync functionality across boxes, and probably a day or so after that their usability and overall perfection convinced me to buy.

maxwin 17y ago

How many of the 2 million users are paying customers? Is dropbox losing money for now because of the 2GB it gives out for free? I believe dropbox will make money but right now it seems that it is still burning money.

zzleeper 17y ago
Of the two million, half are inactive. Of the rest, most are not close to 2gb or use it lightly, so it´s not that expensive. Things like LAN-sync will also help driving down costs. Overall, I think that even if they are still burning money, they could stop doing that and go positive quickly.
hyperbovine 17y ago
2gb of storage costs $.24 a month on S3, and you figure they only average about half full. Call it an even $.50 with data transfer costs, and you've got just one paying customer (at $9.99/month) subsidizing ~15 free users. A 1-in-15 conversion rate seems like a modest goal. They may not be losing any money at all.
- netsp 17y ago
  I use dropbox and am happy with it. I save files to it every day. I share files using it about once a fortnight and I grab files via the web app about once in 2-3 months. I'm at 23.1% of 2.5 GB. I don't think I will upgrade soon unless I start to use two machines regularly. I would guess less per average free user (maybe as low as $2 per year). I would guess that 1/15 conversion is also a high estimate. But I might convert in a few years time. I imagine that it'll take another year or two before they really know what conversion rates look like.

Steve0 17y ago

Just want to note they give users the incentive of extra space when a friend joins and installs the application. They also have a nice tracking tool to 'spy' on which people showed interest and how far in the registration-process they got.

dawie 17y ago

Dropbox also has a bit of secret sauce. They have some technology that can pick up which bits changed in a file and only sync those (which makes their service way faster than others)

hyperbovine 17y ago
librsync (http://sourceforge.net/projects/librsync/ http://sourceforge.net/projects/librsync/) does this. It's LGPL'd so I wouldn't be surprised if they were using it. Certainly a lot simpler than reinventing the wheel.

rms 17y ago

They made something you want to tell your friends about. I noticed people started using it (independently from me) at my engineering college last year and by now shared Dropbox folders are widely used on group projects.

mtholking 17y ago

I think it is thriving because is simple and transparent. Users dont have to learn how to use a new application if they don't need the advanced features. They just drop files into folders like they always have. It was perfect solution for integrating version control for my diverse team of designers(macs), developers(linux) and everyone else(windows).