Startup Fuck-ups: How we lost 25% of our monthly revenue overnight

#1

Post by noellep » Thu, Oct 30, 2014, 1:00 PM UTC

Startup Fuck-ups: How we lost 25% of our monthly revenue overnight
medium.com

Re: Startup Fuck-ups: How we lost 25% of our monthly revenue overnight

#2

Post by shizcakes » Thu, Oct 30, 2014, 1:14 PM UTC

This could be solved an even more fundamental way: Don't run your own mailer as a startup. There are lots of companies that will be responsible for email deliverability on your behalf, via an API. If it took them 3 months to notice no mail was being sent at all, imagine how long it's going to take them to figure out that their IP is blacklisted in Spamhaus or any number of other deliverability issues?

Re: Startup Fuck-ups: How we lost 25% of our monthly revenue overnight

#3

Post by spacefight » Thu, Oct 30, 2014, 1:26 PM UTC

shizcakes wrote: post #2

This could be solved an even more fundamental way: Don't run your own mailer as a startup. There are lots of companies that will be responsible for email deliverability on your behalf, via an API. If it took them 3 months to notice no mail was being sent at all, imagine how long it's going to take them to figure out that their IP is blacklisted in Spamhaus or any number of other deliverability issues?

Not everyone wants to outsource transactional mail handling to a third party.

Re: Startup Fuck-ups: How we lost 25% of our monthly revenue overnight

#4

Post by zrail » Thu, Oct 30, 2014, 1:29 PM UTC

spacefight wrote: post #3

shizcakes wrote: post #2

This could be solved an even more fundamental way: Don't run your own mailer as a startup. There are lots of companies that will be responsible for email deliverability on your behalf, via an API. If it took them 3 months to notice no mail was being sent at all, imagine how long it's going to take them to figure out that their IP is blacklisted in Spamhaus or any number of other deliverability issues?

Not everyone wants to outsource transactional mail handling to a third party.

If someone wants to do that then they've never tried to handle even a moderate volume of transactional mail themselves. Or they're starting a transactional mail service provider.

Either way, my hat's off to them. It's a giant pain in the ass that can be resolved for less than $20 per month.

Re: Startup Fuck-ups: How we lost 25% of our monthly revenue overnight

#5

Post by tankenmate » Thu, Oct 30, 2014, 1:29 PM UTC

shizcakes wrote: post #2

This could be solved an even more fundamental way: Don't run your own mailer as a startup. There are lots of companies that will be responsible for email deliverability on your behalf, via an API. If it took them 3 months to notice no mail was being sent at all, imagine how long it's going to take them to figure out that their IP is blacklisted in Spamhaus or any number of other deliverability issues?

I'd modify that by saying; if you really know how to run a mail server go for it, but if you don't then leave it to someone who does know. Same goes for just about every other service your start up relies on; accounting, legal, etc.

Cost benefit analysis (even a brief one) will always help, even if you get the answer wrong. It's just a part of planning; your plans don't always work, but if you don't plan then you'll never know if you succeeded or not (or why) until it's too late.

Re: Startup Fuck-ups: How we lost 25% of our monthly revenue overnight

#6

Post by general_failure » Thu, Oct 30, 2014, 1:31 PM UTC

"I am single, 41 and pregnant"...

I don't know when pregnancy became a part of a person's identity. I guess this adds to the coolness factor these days because you have to try harder? Sigh.

Re: Startup Fuck-ups: How we lost 25% of our monthly revenue overnight

#7

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 30, 2014, 1:36 PM UTC

general_failure wrote: post #6

"I am single, 41 and pregnant"... I don't know when pregnancy became a part of a person's identity. I guess this adds to the coolness factor these days because you have to try harder? Sigh.

[deleted]

Re: Startup Fuck-ups: How we lost 25% of our monthly revenue overnight

#8

Post by amouat » Thu, Oct 30, 2014, 1:37 PM UTC

general_failure wrote: post #6

"I am single, 41 and pregnant"... I don't know when pregnancy became a part of a person's identity. I guess this adds to the coolness factor these days because you have to try harder? Sigh.

Where does it say this? (I guess it's been removed?)

And why does it matter to you whether or not the author considers being pregnant to be part of her identity?

IMO it would be more healthy to comment on the content of article than than the author's identity.

Re: Startup Fuck-ups: How we lost 25% of our monthly revenue overnight

#9

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Oct 30, 2014, 1:39 PM UTC

amouat wrote: post #8

general_failure wrote: post #6

"I am single, 41 and pregnant"... I don't know when pregnancy became a part of a person's identity. I guess this adds to the coolness factor these days because you have to try harder? Sigh.

Where does it say this? (I guess it's been removed?) And why does it matter to you whether or not the author considers being pregnant to be part of her identity? IMO it would be more healthy to comment on the content of article than than the author's identity.

[deleted]

Re: Startup Fuck-ups: How we lost 25% of our monthly revenue overnight

#10

Post by michaelbuckbee » Thu, Oct 30, 2014, 1:46 PM UTC

shizcakes wrote: post #2

This could be solved an even more fundamental way: Don't run your own mailer as a startup. There are lots of companies that will be responsible for email deliverability on your behalf, via an API. If it took them 3 months to notice no mail was being sent at all, imagine how long it's going to take them to figure out that their IP is blacklisted in Spamhaus or any number of other deliverability issues?

Excellent advice, the only thing I'd add is that it's like this for everything that isn't core to your service when you are getting started.