Marco Arment, the former CTO of the Tumblr blog platform, is best known these days for his time-shifting reading app Instapaper. But he could start a side-job as a financial advisor to start-ups. His motto: Get the money from your customers, not investors.
Arment’s more traditional take is built largely on the idea that if he puts out a good product, there’s no shame in asking customers to pay for it. And the more they pay, the less he needs to rely on outside investors. Arment said many developers are of the mindset that they need to amass a huge number of eyeballs through free services. But they don’t focus enough on building a solid product that can command loyalty and payment from consumers, and instead try to gain profitability through advertising and turning to outside venture capital.
By contrast, Arment says his efforts to monetize Instapaper have been successful because he was able to leverage the hard work he put into his paid versions and the good will he’s gotten back from consumers. And that has allowed him to avoid outside funding, something he plans on doing for the forseeable future.
Don’t Take Funding if You Don’t Need It
“If a service can be profitable and breakeven without VC money, you don’t need to take it,” Arment told me in an interview. “There’s no reason for developers to get a lot of users without charging. There’s another path. My goal is to spread that message: Charge for something and make more than you spend.”
Arment launched Instapaper as a free website in January 2008 and became profitable later that fall when he first began selling a paid iPhone app alongside a free version. He’s been profitable ever since. Arment won’t disclose his revenue, but he said he can cover his expenses and can afford to hire a couple more people if he needed. He left his Tumblr job in September to devote himself to Instapaper.
Though Arment maintains a free iPhone app, he said the focus of the company has been on the paid versions which are updated first (a new update is expected in the next month or so). He has yet to release a free iPad version and has only gotten three emails about the lack of it. Most seem happy to pay for the $5 iPad version. Between 25 and 33 percent of people pay for the $5 paid iPhone version. In fact, as an experiment, he pulled the free iPhone app from the app store for a week a little while back and found that only one person emailed. Sales of the paid version didn’t go up, but they didn’t go down either, he said.
“The free version isn’t really competing as much as I expected with the paid version; a lot of people go straight to the paid version,” he said. “It was only a week but the people who were going to the free version would not have gone to the paid version.”
Let Users Thank You by Paying You
That’s what’s allowed Arment to really focus on the paid segment. In fact, he still questions the value of the free version at times because it can leave a more negative impression for users with its limited set of features. Arment said his paying users have surprised him with their support. He started a $1 a month subscription plan in October that didn’t actually offer much in the way of extra features. It was more of a way to let users show their support for Instapaper. He said the response was overwhelmingly positive.
“That was a huge surprise to me how well it’s doing given there’s no real incentive to do it besides good will. But it ends up that good will is powerful,” Arment said. “It shows that people will pay for something they like because they want to ensure its future.”
Arment is testing the theory again with a new API that leverages his subscription plan. For developers who want to build apps with Instapaper integration, Arment said last month he will require their users to subscribe to Instapaper. Again, the response has been very positive, said Arment. Two hundred developers have applied to get access to the API. All this money-making has allowed Arment to sidestep venture capital money. He has had repeated offers, but Arment said accepting VC funding is akin to taking on a new boss, and the act of raising and maintaining money is a full-time job, he said.
Venture Capital Is Like Having Another Boss
“If you can go without funding, you can be a one- or two-person shop without a whole level of bosses,” he said. “You’re not worried about getting more money and getting diluted anymore.”
Arment’s approach doesn’t work for everyone. He was fortunate to be able to this as a side job and build it up while at Tumblr. And he acknowledges that the lack of funding could be a problem if he wanted to build a staff quickly. But he believes his experience shows that a more old-school approach to building a business and developing a following with consumers is a viable one for entrepreneurs that should be explored more. He may not the biggest company, but he can be a profitable one for a while.
“I don’t need the entire market,” Arment said. “I can get five percent of the market and be rich.”
Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):
- Why Apple Hasn’t Sewn Up the Tablet Market — Yet
- Lessons From Twitter: How to Play Nice With Ecosystem Partners
- Rogue Devices: The Consumer Influence on Enterprise Mobility, Part 1
Today marked the last day of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) 2011 summit in Washington D.C. Here are some of the deals and agency decisions revealed or discussed at the summit, which are likely to impact green tech investors and startups in America for years to come.
Progress on seed investments…
The D.O.E. boasted that six, private companies that it seed-funded last year have raised a collective $100 million in additional private capital. Five of those companies are based in Massachusetts, and one in California, respectively:
1366 Technologies – manufacturing technology providers that help silicon photovoltaics manufacturers cut their costs and therefore the overall cost of installed solar power.
FloDesign – a company that uses aerospace technology to develop everything from wind turbines, and noise reducers to, yes, weapons and stealth aircraft.
SunCatalytix - an energy storage and renewable fuels company that’s working on a way of generating solar power from light and water.
General Compression – compressed air energy storage technology that makes intermittent renewable power, primarily from wind farms, more useful at a large-scale.
24M Technologies – a spin-out from A123 Systems that’s making lithium-ion electric car batteries that store more energy for a lower price compared to what’s available today.
Envia Systems – a developer of lithium-ion batteries made of a proprietary, composite cathode material that, ARPA-E reports, have the highest energy density in the world.
Climate changing attitudes…
Leaders in energy and clean tech — including from the private sector and Obama administration — spoke on a range of subjects at the summit, including ARPA-E budget cuts, spending what’s left and where, and changing attitudes about clean energy and climate change.
The list of speakers included Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger along with 85 others. [Ed's note: Why couldn't ARPA-E find any African-Americans to speak at this summit? Check out the not so diverse speaker list in full, and let us know who you would have recommended for a more equal opportunity event in the comments below.]
As Jenny Mandel reported for Greenwire’s Environment & Energy, the “Gov” said it was time to end debates over climate change, face the music of global warming, and stop acting defeatist about America’s chances to lead clean energy and green tech industries on the world economic stage.
Tightening the purse strings…
Secretary Chu remained optimistic about ARPA-E’s impact thus far and potential to drive further positive developments in clean energy at home, hedging questions about the agency’s budget for 2011.
As Eli Kintisch reported on the fate of the agency’s budget for Science Insider, earlier this week:
“The young agency [ARPA-E]… is living off $15 million it received in 2009 after having committed some $400 million in stimulus funding. Without more money, the program will have to start cutting staff members or other expenses this summer…The White House request[ed] $550 million for ARPA-E in 2012, [but] Congress had authorized only $306 million for the agency in last year’s reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act. Even $50 million for the rest of the fiscal year would put a squeeze on the agency. ARPA-E might stay alive, but it would be a shell of the juggernaut that attracted 2000 people to the [summit event].”
Storing power, greening the military…
From what’s left to spend, U.S. Navy secretary Mabus revealed at the event, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy were striking a partnership to green the military’s energy use with more powerful, portable fuel cell, battery and smart grid technology. [Hat tip: Green Car Congress]
Through the agreement, the Navy would start to use grid, and power storage systems developed by ARPA-E in its operations. The DOD and DOE plan to spend some $25 million, starting next year (2012) to develop two particular projects, here.
One thing they will support is the development of a hybrid power storage system that’s got enough energy density to charge military equipment in the field, but is portable, and can therefore help reduce diesel consumption, as well as time spent refueling in the field.
Another thing they will support is research into power storage and grid systems that can help the Navy ensure power is always-available at all their buildings, regardless of high gas prices and decreasing budgets, political unrest in oil-producing nations, or the intermittent qualities of renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
Photos:
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger touring a solar photovoltaics plant, Nov. 2009 via Jumanji Solar
2. Energy secretary Steven Chu at ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit 2011, Washington, DC by Ken Shipp via via US.gov
BenchCraft, LLC announced that it will debut its Concert Series, a new line of recliners with an integrated sound system, at Huge Point Marketplace on October 17-22, 2009. Concert Series recliners characteristic two built-in stereo speakers plus a subwoofer developed particularly to produce a complete vary of sound. It's tactile motors which could possibly vibrate together with the sound or be put into use independently as being a massage product, and separate controls that make it possible for for person changes to be created on the volume, bass/treble, as well as tactile/massage feature. The strategy, that will have a very commencing value position of $699, will also encompass a mini audio jack so users can connect to their a range of audio sources (i.e. iPods, MP3 gamers, cell phones, and so on.). To that end, Sinning mentioned that Berkline will also be introducing in decide on motion
bench craft company reviews
furnishings its new eCoupled technology option--a wireless charging station for electronic products which include cell phones, MP3 players, and laptops. Formulated by Fulton Innovation, it eliminates the need to have for power cords by designing an electromagnetic conduit combined with an intelligent control strategy that constantly monitors energy flow so a range of units from numerous manufactures can cost simultaneously. eCoupled know-how is additionally safe for electronic products simply because it supplies only the amount of power
bench craft company reviews
required to maintain a gadget at peak energy ranges, so there exists no chance of overcharging. Even when the amount of gadgets compatible with this technologies is restricted, Berkline expects that more and much more brands will move toward incorporating the capability to connect towards the eCoupled perform
The Bench Craft Company offers no excuses for your complicated perform and perseverance that they commit on their own to to keep on their own since the leader in nationwide onsite golf program home
bench craft company reviews
advertising. No excuses for furnishing their clientele with the most complete protection for his or her bench craft company reviews promoting dollar regardless if it be locally or nationwide. No excuses for offering golf course properties the most seamless plan for making additional revenue while in the most non-intrusive method, although enhancing the good quality with the facilities and even the expertise of their golfers on their property. Bench Craft is committed to being the most effective and then the greatest at what they do, advertising on golf course bench craft company reviews venues.
In an age where by no one
bench craft company reviews
would like to take responsibility for anything, Bench Craft can make by itself absolutely responsible for that achievements of their advertising customers, which is why their clientele and well as Bench Craft constantly working experience nutritious expansion prices and revenue margins. A agency cannot be any longer
bench craft company reviews
effective than their consumer, so it's goal of Bench Craft to create sure that any customer receives the ideal potential venue for presenting their buyers
bench craft company reviews
goods and providers, regardless if it be locally or nationally. This commitment to quality is what sets Bench Craft apart from its rivals, and dollar for dollar can make its advertising products and solutions a lot of the most important in the sector.
The golf courses bench craft company reviews that Bench Craft Company functions in concert with, receive services and goods at no charge. Bench Craft Company sales group right funds this model for each golf program by obtaining sponsors for each merchandise. Regional vendors and gamers inside neighborhood obtain sponsorship priority and golf program management functions carefully with Bench Craft to recognize possible sponsors. Bench Craft’s hugely profitable
bench craft company reviews
strategy supplies golf courses a 100 % free of charge option that also eliminates costs consequently of style changes, program modifications, theft and vandalism.
As being a definite added advantage, every single course is protected beneath a $3,000,000 liability policy. The organization can accommodate just about each individual golf program. At the same time, Bench Craft Company performs with each other with all branches in the Armed Forces, combined with state, county and city golf programs. This collection of golf courses offers Bench Craft’s potential customers together with the most thorough coverage of golf course properties while in the Usa.
The forward
bench craft company reviews
considering Visionaries at Bench Craft Company formulated a approach that garners the attention and participation of not only its very own income workers, but the sponsors, golf course management and then the membership and patrons. There’s only one Bench Craft Company, really do not fall for rip off plots by imposters working a rip-off.
bench craft company reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment