[Full disclosure: Iterasi is a client of mine. As such, I have been privy to discussions about this topic. While I have acted as a sounding board on the concept, I have not directly participated in the development or marketing of this product.]
Times are tough for everyone. Especially startups. So tough, that people are starting with the crazy talk. Crazy talk like “Gee I don’t know. Maybe we should actually pay to use that functionality?” This time, those crazy people are users of Portland-based Iterasi‘s currently free product who are interested in seeing the service sticking around.
Iterasi’s response? The customer—or would be customer in this case—is always right.
So today, Iterasi hinted at something to satisfy that request: a fee-based version of the Iterasi service.
We have been giving away way too much for free. Many users have told me this. We have experimented with various business models with some successes. Shortly we will move to a model where we will charge for premium services. As has been rumored for some time (by me mostly) we will be offering for-fee products built on top of our core archiving technologies. The first of these products will be available a little later this summer.
Now, don’t get too stressed. Iterasi is still planning to offer the free version of its product. However, they “may reduce the number of pages that you can archive for free.”
It’s good to see startups in town making strides toward revenue and—hopefully—toward becoming self-sustaining and profitable businesses. Here’s hoping Iterasi’s pending product moves them in that direction and provides an example of how to transition from free to pay services—something that would benefit any number of startups in town.
For more on the proposed changes, see the post by Pete Grillo of Iterasi. Rr for more information on the service, visit Iterasi.
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