Stenos
The app that makes notes automatically
So today is my first ProductHunt launch: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/stenos
Stenos is almost 5 months and I think it is robust enough to meet the public. I followed this resource on SwipeFiles and two tweets
Right now we are at #7 (check it out if you want to support us. Even though we had a lot of initial votes (we were #2 for the first half hour) we started to sink quite rapidly, I suspect that is because we did not reach many veteran hunters (I did not ask for a hunter and I just don't know that many). I'll write it down to lesson learned.
Next up, on the same day. I'll be pitching Stenos at BNR, a Dutch radio station (find it here if you are interested. I'll keep you updated!
I started Stenos in part to scratch my own itch. I wanted an app to make note for me automatically. Another just as important reason was to implement lessons from my previous startup. Those lessons are a great post for another time, we'll sum em up for now as: Keep It Simple, Stupid
Stenos is a consumer app that is pay as you go. Intuitively that was a no-no, most published content list it as a less attractive option AND my own user interviews placed it dead last in the options (right after a flat fee subscription model).
But I implemented it anyway, and I do not regret it yet.
Why did I choose to do this?
- I wanted to keep it stupidly simple. My cost base is pay as you go (as a lot of cloud services are) and I wanted a margin that works at any scale.
- Because I could make an honest/direct proposition to my customers. I deliver you value, you pay me for it. No lock in, no data for my models, no nothing
What is my upside?
I have no outside investment & my AI technology came out of the box. So I have very little sunk costs, which gives me a lot of freedom of mind as to whether to progress or not. And because any usage (outside of a small sample give away) contributes to my gross margin, I have infinite runway.
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I like the simplicity aspect. I do wonder, would it not be better if you chose a pricing model that your users prefer?
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I wonder that too, of course. But what is better? Doing everything users want is also not a strategy.
In my case it would also mean creating some liability in the app (scenario's where the margin is negative) and/or taking in some capital. In both cases it means giving up some freedom.
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That's an interesting perspective!
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Nice, I like this focus on keeping things simple. How do you know users don't like it? Is it an assumption of have you received feedback? If the latter, how did you handle their objection?
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Actual paying users mostly say: Smart pricing system, but that is prone to selection bias. Those who pay, are already voting they like the system. I base this on sporadic mails I receive.
The users I interviewed from my initial subscription list said quite overwhelmingly Pay as you go was not very attractive, and most articles online recommend pay per month type deals.
The objections I 'receive' are low conversion (about 8% of installs are paying users, about 1% from impression to install)
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Stenos has been published for 100 days now. It generates some modest sales, just about enough to get a feel for things as CAC and LTV (which is nice).
The app has been designed to be radically simple in company structure, business model & features, etc. Lessons learned, remember? As a result of that simpleness I feel a lot of room to give the app some room, let it breathe a little. I am not chasing any income, or vc term sheet, so I feel quite alright doing a modest turn over.
I have decided to invest some time in marketing, something I am no an expert in, hoping to find out what works and what doesn’t. I might be able to scale those efforts later with some outside help.
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