5 ms·

At $99 / month for Pro accounts, I can see 37 signals making a small fortune off of this.

adamhowell 17y ago
They've already reached the 1,000 pre-signups and have at least 20+ pro accounts. They made a (very) small fortune in less than 5 hours. If they can give designers a decent return and keep clients coming back... wow.
- tjogin 17y ago
  It didn't require a super-unique idea that needed to be rushed to market before the window of opportunity closed, either. Just another common idea, executed well. (Ok, so they're not quite there yet.)
  - doug_m 17y ago
    Not just a well executed idea. Its another situation like StackOverflow where they can tackle chicken and egg situation others can't because of their exposure.
    - 10ren 17y ago
      Not just exposure, but exposure to the right two communities: many designers follow them, and many coders. These groups tend not to hang out (like biz and coder guys don't...). If there aren't any other intersections, it's a unique competitive advantage. Perhaps the trick is also in knowing what you got; and what problems others have got. hmmm... I do wonder if some kind of specific advertising like this was a thought very early on for them when they started dedicating themselves to blogging, speaking to build an audience, as a financial rationalization of what they wanted to do anyway. :-)
      - dpcan 17y ago
        Yes, they will get sign-ups because designers and coders know about them. But if I went to ANY of my web design clients from the last 7 years, I would have to say that maybe 1% or less of them EVER heard of 37Signals. That being said, it looks to me like a bust in the making because if only other designers are looking at your $100 per month "ad", then it's actually working against you.
        10ren 17y ago
        I was thinking that coders need designers; but you're saying that, in fact, clients are neither. hmm.. I bet that some coders do need designers (e.g. if the coder was hired first), but it's probably a tiny tiny fraction of all clients.
    - tjogin 17y ago
      That helps them get exposure, but it does not guarantee long-term success. Besides, 37signals weren't born with their readership, they built it.
      - davidw 17y ago
        Nothing guarantees long term success. The point is that part of their competitive advantage is 'being famous'. This doesn't look like a particularly difficult thing to code up, but as stated above, without that initial kick, it would likely not go anywhere.
        tjogin 17y ago
        Also, I don't think the difficulty of coding something up has any real baring on how well it does.
tjogin 17y ago
If they make a small fortune from this, it'll be because the having the pro account brings a lot more than $99 to the designer; i.e. because of the value of the service provided, not the cost of signing up. Because if the service doesn't bring the value, nobody is going to continue to pay for it in the long run.

They've already reached the 1,000 pre-signups and have at least 20+ pro accounts. They made a (very) small fortune in less than 5 hours. If they can give designers a decent return and keep clients coming back... wow.

tjogin 17y ago
It didn't require a super-unique idea that needed to be rushed to market before the window of opportunity closed, either. Just another common idea, executed well. (Ok, so they're not quite there yet.)
- doug_m 17y ago
  Not just a well executed idea. Its another situation like StackOverflow where they can tackle chicken and egg situation others can't because of their exposure.
  - 10ren 17y ago
    Not just exposure, but exposure to the right two communities: many designers follow them, and many coders. These groups tend not to hang out (like biz and coder guys don't...). If there aren't any other intersections, it's a unique competitive advantage. Perhaps the trick is also in knowing what you got; and what problems others have got. hmmm... I do wonder if some kind of specific advertising like this was a thought very early on for them when they started dedicating themselves to blogging, speaking to build an audience, as a financial rationalization of what they wanted to do anyway. :-)
    - dpcan 17y ago
      Yes, they will get sign-ups because designers and coders know about them. But if I went to ANY of my web design clients from the last 7 years, I would have to say that maybe 1% or less of them EVER heard of 37Signals. That being said, it looks to me like a bust in the making because if only other designers are looking at your $100 per month "ad", then it's actually working against you.
      - 10ren 17y ago
        I was thinking that coders need designers; but you're saying that, in fact, clients are neither. hmm.. I bet that some coders do need designers (e.g. if the coder was hired first), but it's probably a tiny tiny fraction of all clients.
  - tjogin 17y ago
    That helps them get exposure, but it does not guarantee long-term success. Besides, 37signals weren't born with their readership, they built it.
    - davidw 17y ago
      Nothing guarantees long term success. The point is that part of their competitive advantage is 'being famous'. This doesn't look like a particularly difficult thing to code up, but as stated above, without that initial kick, it would likely not go anywhere.
      - tjogin 17y ago
        Also, I don't think the difficulty of coding something up has any real baring on how well it does.

tjogin 17y ago

If they make a small fortune from this, it'll be because the having the pro account brings a lot more than $99 to the designer; i.e. because of the value of the service provided, not the cost of signing up. Because if the service doesn't bring the value, nobody is going to continue to pay for it in the long run.