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1000 True Fans? Try 100

a16z.com

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Re: 1000 True Fans? Try 100

#181

Post by dpcan »

wtracy wrote: post #42

I'm having trouble envisioning very many markets where a "fan" is going to consistently spend $1k/year. The article mentions professional training and education, which makes sense. I can also see certain people spending that kind of money on physical goods (mechanical keyboards, audiophile equipment, one-of-a-kind art pieces) but $1k of revenue from physical goods is very different from $1k of income . Other than tha…

A fan can be a lot of things.

You can sell software development services, and your fan may be a graphic designer who uses you every time to build out the back-end for the beautiful designs they make. You do a good job, you're their go-to person, they are your "fan".

Re: 1000 True Fans? Try 100

#182

Post by mcclux »

claudiulodro wrote: post #170

It looks to me what a16z has just discovered is a service business. A plumber or an SAT tutor or an upholstery shop or whatever basically just needs 100 customers a year paying around $1000.

Call me cynical, but to me the entire post just reads like an advertisment for the companies in the $1000 column that they've invested in...

Re: 1000 True Fans? Try 100

#183

Post by john61 »

tablethnuser wrote: post #137
bambax wrote: post #47

1. The article shows a pyramid and it's important. In order to get a few "true fans" (people prepared to pay dearly for what you produce), you need a large amount of "distant fans" (people who like what you do, as long as it's free). The key word is conversion , and, regrettably, it's not present once in the post [0]. It's probably in the 1 to 0.1% range. [0] Edit: In fact it is (convert). However in the next paragra…

Good points. Based on my experience with whales in f2p games you will get outsized income from 0.1% of whale users, reliable income from 20% of hobby users, and one-off spend here and there from the rest. When I think of someone paying me $1000 for art that others may pay only $20 or $5 for, first of all it still feels like charity from the whales. I think you could meaningfully create $20 and $5 tiers for any digita…

You described the business model of Ludwig van Beethoven. One of the first independent artist in his profession. He had a few whales which gained status through personal inscription of his works and paid him to stay in Vienna. But he was massively popular in Vienna before he gained whales.

Re: 1000 True Fans? Try 100

#184

Post by the_watcher »

WA wrote: post #44
jv22222 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was wondering if it was written by patio11. It’s just like his writing style.

What? Not at all imho. He writes very different. He likes to construct more complex sentences. This reads like your average journalist, which is okay, but not particular distinguishable.

Yea I don't think the writing style is patio11 at all. The thesis of, effectively, "charge more", however, is.

Re: 1000 True Fans? Try 100

#185

Post by Kalq »

I think there's a bit of confusion here in the way the author frames these 100 people. At this level they are not fans. They're not supporting you out of some sort of emotional attachment. They are giving you $1000 a year because they believe that the service or product you provide is worth that much. They're customers and that's all.

The "whale" archetype is just a modern version of what has always existed with MLM and self-help gurus where they pray on rich and emotionally vulnerable people. It's an absolutely tiny group of people that will never translate to a widespread economy.

Conflating the 1000 true fans concept with this is a mistake in my opinion.

Re: 1000 True Fans? Try 100

#186

Post by rawoke083600 »

SuoDuanDao wrote: post #179
test1235 wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is "Goop"?

Gwynneth Paltrow's personal online store. People get annoyed because she's into alternative health stuff but it's really just a store for people who have the same taste as Gwynneth Paltrow.

Also she named one kid "apple" :o

Re: 1000 True Fans? Try 100

#187

Post by claudiawerner »

jonkho wrote: post #178
claudiawerner wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is the definition of an economy in abstract - it is ignorant of the historical factors which have created this particular global economy, and it is ignorant of the large and small scale social dynamics influencing the economy and influenced by it. It is ignorant of the necessary rights, as they are formed today, to sustain the economy. It is ignorant of commodity fetishism and alienation, and the fact that an ec…

Then don’t monetize. No one is coercing anyone to do anything they themselves don’t wish to. Those creators that don’t want to monetize their own labor...can still choose to not monetize. There is no coercion here.

You're correct, but that's not a reason against trying to change the system. There were many economic phenomena through history people have consented to, and not all of them good for society as a whole - sometimes with disastrous consequences.

Re: 1000 True Fans? Try 100

#189

Post by dreamcompiler »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #136
dreamcompiler wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Overpriced pseudoscientific junk products sold to gullible people and hyped by a minor celebrity obsessed with her vagina.

> obsessed with her vagina Who has a basic misunderstanding on what exactly a vagina is. https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/01/goops-netflix-series...

Ouch. The only thing that surprised me about this is that someone of Betty Dodson's stature agreed to be on Paltrow's show. This is kind of like Bob Woodward appearing as a commentator on Fox News.

Re: 1000 True Fans? Try 100

#190

Post by marcusverus »

keiferski wrote: post #116

The problem with the "passion economy", which was alluded to in another comment, is that it strengthens the already too-prevalent assumption that everything can and should be monetizable. Markets are useful but they don't need to be involved in every aspect of existence. Sure, you don’t need to participate in Patreon to make stuff, but the trend seems to be toward relying on consumer market forces to fund culture. Ty…

I cannot think of a more trivial reason to fundamentally restructure the economy.
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