
The Figures Behind The Top Web Apps - danw
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/sxsw_the_figures_behind_top_web_apps.php#more
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run4yourlives
If you really look at those numbers, they become really "interesting".

The only application making a profit is drop-send. (Sorry, "top secret" = "not
enough" for me) Some of those sites have some outrageous costs indicative of
major VC involvement. On the surface, none of them (aside from freshbooks)
seem like a very good way to make money either. Granted this is my highly
subjective take, but I see it as this:

Drop-Send - Profitable, traded high expectations for more secure results...
may have competition problems in the future, which is probably why its for
sale. It has a great potential though, and room to move in the cost to profit
area to compete.

Freshbooks - Good looking app, should be able to pay for itself...
ridiculously high monthly costs are a liability.

Maya's Mom - Great Idea, better have a killer idea to make money off of it
though, I don't think ads will cut it.

Mobissimo - Not promising in my mind.. already need to explain in words how
they're different from expedia and travelocity. Not a good sign.

Wesabe - Interesting concept, but there's no way in hell I'd give them my
account information. That's a big leap of faith for a start-up to ask of their
customers.

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far33d
While, in dollars, founder time and equity don't cost anything, in real terms,
they do. Unfortunately, even in public companies, there isn't a good way to
really account for these numbers... So I believe the bigger numbers
(Mobissimo, Wesabe) are more indicative of the "real" costs of starting a
business.

For instance, if I were start and self-fund a new business, the development
and design costs would be zero, but I'd be paying rent, eating food, paying
for gas, etc etc, since I'd be working full time. For a real account of the
overall costs, I'd have to take those expenses as "salary" in my overall cost
evaluation.

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run4yourlives
Drop-send's cost are quite accurate. He paid for developer and design time on
contract.

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brett
This is precisely the kind of data I always am hoping to hear about but almost
never do.

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python_kiss
It seems the lawyers take away more money than the development process! eek

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jamongkad
Not with all but yeah they do take away a sizeable chunk of the budget. What I
want to know is who funded these businesses...

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far33d
I meant for the labor components of the "build", not maintenance, costs.

