37signals Releases Backpack Financial Numbers • Hacker News Board

Re: 37signals Releases Backpack Financial Numbers

#11

Post by blamfilter » Wed, Feb 20, 2008, 11:43 PM UTC

alaskamiller wrote: post #4

my random guesses for their revenue: - basecamp: $550,000/yr - signal vs noise (jobboard + deck): $200,000/yr - backpack: existing + new customers = $100,000/yr - highrise: $100,000/yr - campfire / writeboard / ta-da list: $75,000/yr - get real book: $75,000, span of its entire publication run 37s is at least a 1 mil a year company

I think you are off by a factor of 5-7x

Re: 37signals Releases Backpack Financial Numbers

#12

Post by wisernow » Thu, Feb 21, 2008, 12:47 AM UTC

spolsky wrote: post #6

if you're really determined to figure out their revenue, work your way backwards from their 9 employees. Most software companies take in $100,000-$200,000/yr per employee per year in top line revenue.

Excellent point. My guess is that they could be a bit higher, up to 300K per employee (that would be a somewhat exceptional, I grant you). $300K estimate would give $2.7 million per year.

Re: 37signals Releases Backpack Financial Numbers

#13

Post by martin » Thu, Feb 21, 2008, 1:10 AM UTC

redorb wrote: post #5

37signals / basically the google of the SAAS model.

Isn't Google the Google of the SaaS model?

Re: 37signals Releases Backpack Financial Numbers

#14

Post by pius » Thu, Feb 21, 2008, 3:41 PM UTC

blamfilter wrote: post #11

alaskamiller wrote: post #4

my random guesses for their revenue: - basecamp: $550,000/yr - signal vs noise (jobboard + deck): $200,000/yr - backpack: existing + new customers = $100,000/yr - highrise: $100,000/yr - campfire / writeboard / ta-da list: $75,000/yr - get real book: $75,000, span of its entire publication run 37s is at least a 1 mil a year company

I think you are off by a factor of 5-7x

I think you're closer than Alaska is. A million dollars a year is nothing when you've got nine high-profile employees in Chicago. Jason Fried is good enough of a business person that he's not going to run a firm with dangerously low margins.