Marc Hedlund, co-founder and former CEO of personal finance company Wesabe, has penned a refreshingly honest and open take on why he thinks the startup lost to rival Mint.
The latter launched later than Wesabe (and won the top prize at the TechCrunch40 conference back in 2007) and was later acquired by Intuit for $170 million, while Wesabe had a less stellar exit and hit the deadpool last June.
Hedlund takes the blame, but also counters some of the things that have been cited as reasons for Wesabe’s demise for being myths, such as the fact that Mint was first to market, that the company wasn’t making any money and that it boasted an inferior name and design.
An excerpt:
I am, of course, enormously sad that Wesabe lost and the company closed. I don’t agree with those who say you should learn from your successes and mostly ignore your failures; nor do I agree with those who obsess over failures for years after (as I have done in the past). I’m hoping that by writing this all out I can offload it from my head and hopefully help inform other people who try to start companies in the future.
You’ll hear a lot about why company A won and company B lost in any market, and in my experience, a lot of the theories thrown about — even or especially by the participants — are utter crap. A domain name doesn’t win you a market; launching second or fifth or tenth doesn’t lose you a market. You can’t blame your competitors or your board or the lack of or excess of investment.
Focus on what really matters: making users happy with your product as quickly as you can, and helping them as much as you can after that. If you do those better than anyone else out there you’ll win.
What we’ve got here, ladies and gentlemen, is a must-read.
Good discussion about the post over at Hacker News.
Comments
Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all ReadWriteCloud posts
Thanks for sharing this post!
Posted by: JiHye |
September 26, 2010 7:19 PMThe Twilio Fund for startups is an awesome idea.
Posted by: Richard Uren |
September 27, 2010 3:00 AMThanks for posting this tips. There are a lot of SaaS applications out on the web and only a few of them are successful. Personally, I think Basecamp (Project Management System) opened everyone's eyes on how to present a SaaS.
To anyone that found this post helpful - check out this book as well -
Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson
Posted by: avisra |
September 27, 2010 5:26 AM"It's a formula that doesn't come up with the price by adding up the costs and then tacking on enough to make a profit."
Interesting. It'll work for a while, but once there are a couple of similar competitors, prices will be driven down to costs plus a small delta. So make hay while the sun shines!
Posted by: Sam Mason |
September 27, 2010 5:38 AMThe SaaS model almost demands value-based pricing, because most of the costs are fixed. The cost per user will be determined by the number of users, which is impossible to predict when you're first setting prices.
Having said that, if you price it too high or don't watch your costs, you leave yourself vulnerable.
Six Apart is a good example of a company that never figured out how to price their product.
Posted by: Barry Parr |
September 27, 2010 9:21 AMC'mon folks. Twilio isn't a SaaS, it's a VoIP reseller.
Mutton isn't lamb is it?
Posted by: James Barnes |
September 27, 2010 11:47 PMThanks for sharing this post!
Posted by: JiHye |
September 26, 2010 7:19 PMThe Twilio Fund for startups is an awesome idea.
Posted by: Richard Uren |
September 27, 2010 3:00 AMThanks for posting this tips. There are a lot of SaaS applications out on the web and only a few of them are successful. Personally, I think Basecamp (Project Management System) opened everyone's eyes on how to present a SaaS.
To anyone that found this post helpful - check out this book as well -
Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson
Posted by: avisra |
September 27, 2010 5:26 AM"It's a formula that doesn't come up with the price by adding up the costs and then tacking on enough to make a profit."
Interesting. It'll work for a while, but once there are a couple of similar competitors, prices will be driven down to costs plus a small delta. So make hay while the sun shines!
Posted by: Sam Mason |
September 27, 2010 5:38 AMThe SaaS model almost demands value-based pricing, because most of the costs are fixed. The cost per user will be determined by the number of users, which is impossible to predict when you're first setting prices.
Having said that, if you price it too high or don't watch your costs, you leave yourself vulnerable.
Six Apart is a good example of a company that never figured out how to price their product.
Posted by: Barry Parr |
September 27, 2010 9:21 AMC'mon folks. Twilio isn't a SaaS, it's a VoIP reseller.
Mutton isn't lamb is it?
Posted by: James Barnes |
September 27, 2010 11:47 PM
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Feds Sue Fox <b>News</b> Over Reporter Catherine Herridge's Charges Of <b>...</b>
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are suing the Fox News Network for allegedly retaliating against a reporter after she complained about unequal pay and job conditions based on her gender and age. The Equal Employment Opportunity ...
Last Look: Style <b>News</b> You Might Have Missed (PHOTOS, POLL)
Welcome to the Last Look, where we round up the Style scraps that didn't make it to our news page this week. Click through and catch up on what else happened since Monday!
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Your Daily Cup of Orange and Blue Coffee .... Horse Tracks!
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Marc Hedlund, co-founder and former CEO of personal finance company Wesabe, has penned a refreshingly honest and open take on why he thinks the startup lost to rival Mint.
The latter launched later than Wesabe (and won the top prize at the TechCrunch40 conference back in 2007) and was later acquired by Intuit for $170 million, while Wesabe had a less stellar exit and hit the deadpool last June.
Hedlund takes the blame, but also counters some of the things that have been cited as reasons for Wesabe’s demise for being myths, such as the fact that Mint was first to market, that the company wasn’t making any money and that it boasted an inferior name and design.
An excerpt:
I am, of course, enormously sad that Wesabe lost and the company closed. I don’t agree with those who say you should learn from your successes and mostly ignore your failures; nor do I agree with those who obsess over failures for years after (as I have done in the past). I’m hoping that by writing this all out I can offload it from my head and hopefully help inform other people who try to start companies in the future.
You’ll hear a lot about why company A won and company B lost in any market, and in my experience, a lot of the theories thrown about — even or especially by the participants — are utter crap. A domain name doesn’t win you a market; launching second or fifth or tenth doesn’t lose you a market. You can’t blame your competitors or your board or the lack of or excess of investment.
Focus on what really matters: making users happy with your product as quickly as you can, and helping them as much as you can after that. If you do those better than anyone else out there you’ll win.
What we’ve got here, ladies and gentlemen, is a must-read.
Good discussion about the post over at Hacker News.
Comments
Subscribe to comments for this post OR Subscribe to comments for all ReadWriteCloud posts
bench craft company rip off
Feds Sue Fox <b>News</b> Over Reporter Catherine Herridge's Charges Of <b>...</b>
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are suing the Fox News Network for allegedly retaliating against a reporter after she complained about unequal pay and job conditions based on her gender and age. The Equal Employment Opportunity ...
Last Look: Style <b>News</b> You Might Have Missed (PHOTOS, POLL)
Welcome to the Last Look, where we round up the Style scraps that didn't make it to our news page this week. Click through and catch up on what else happened since Monday!
Denver Broncos <b>News</b> - Horse Tracks - 10/02/10 - Mile High Report
Your Daily Cup of Orange and Blue Coffee .... Horse Tracks!
bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off
Feds Sue Fox <b>News</b> Over Reporter Catherine Herridge's Charges Of <b>...</b>
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are suing the Fox News Network for allegedly retaliating against a reporter after she complained about unequal pay and job conditions based on her gender and age. The Equal Employment Opportunity ...
Last Look: Style <b>News</b> You Might Have Missed (PHOTOS, POLL)
Welcome to the Last Look, where we round up the Style scraps that didn't make it to our news page this week. Click through and catch up on what else happened since Monday!
Denver Broncos <b>News</b> - Horse Tracks - 10/02/10 - Mile High Report
Your Daily Cup of Orange and Blue Coffee .... Horse Tracks!
bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off
Feds Sue Fox <b>News</b> Over Reporter Catherine Herridge's Charges Of <b>...</b>
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are suing the Fox News Network for allegedly retaliating against a reporter after she complained about unequal pay and job conditions based on her gender and age. The Equal Employment Opportunity ...
Last Look: Style <b>News</b> You Might Have Missed (PHOTOS, POLL)
Welcome to the Last Look, where we round up the Style scraps that didn't make it to our news page this week. Click through and catch up on what else happened since Monday!
Denver Broncos <b>News</b> - Horse Tracks - 10/02/10 - Mile High Report
Your Daily Cup of Orange and Blue Coffee .... Horse Tracks!
bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off
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