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Email startup Superhuman lays off 22% of staff

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Re: Email startup Superhuman lays off 22% of staff

#31
post #27

Maybe I'm the odd one out, but I've been using Superhuman for years and it definitely helps me get through the 50+ emails that are awaiting me each morning significantly faster than either GMail's web or mobile client or Outlook on mobile. I'm quite happy to pay for it as it easily pays for itself. Rahul has frequently personally responded to my inquiries about the product as well as recommendations. They definitely…

I've been using Mimestream for my desktop Gmail experience... fantastic product.

Re: Email startup Superhuman lays off 22% of staff

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Invites weren't what got me hyped about Gmail. My Yahoo and Hotmail accounts had 2-5 MB storage limits at the time. Gmail offered a 1 GB storage limit. The idea that I'd never have to delete an email again is what had me hitting up old friends on AIM for an invite.

Ironically, now that they've locked everyone in, they're demanding that you pay or delete emails. Scumbags.

They stopped giving the GB of free storage?

Re: Email startup Superhuman lays off 22% of staff

#33

I ditched Superhuman for Simplify: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/simplify-gmail/pbm... It’s cheaper and pretty much the same features without the bugs of Superhuman.

Never heard of this before. Thanks for mentioning. Loving it so far.

Re: Email startup Superhuman lays off 22% of staff

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That may be but this app has a limited market regardless how good it is. Its not a VC/hypergrowth product and only possible exit is acquisition.

Yeah this is a solid chrome app store kind of solo dev project. 100 employees is absurd. I think they had a lot of early adopter VC users who really liked it and let their personal bias overwhelm better TAM analysis.

people said that about Honey (just a chrome app store solo dev project) and look how much they got acquired for. Don't underestimate them.

Re: Email startup Superhuman lays off 22% of staff

#35
post #30

OT: I've been trying recently to find something that works like the old Google Inbox project. Inbox was the only time I've ever reached inbox 0 , and it annoyed the hell out of me when they cancelled it. Has anyone seen/used anything that comes close?

Readdle's Spark[1] has been my Inbox replacement since Google killed it. It has pin/snooze functionality and a similar concept of grouping emails by category and letting you easily mass mark-as-read. Plus, you can connect multiple email accounts rather than just being limited to your Gmail account. It's also nice because you can have a "team"; my wife and I use it to share important messages and help each other draft or review emails. They have really nice apps for Mac and iOS, too.

[1]: https://sparkmailapp.com/

Re: Email startup Superhuman lays off 22% of staff

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That may be but this app has a limited market regardless how good it is. Its not a VC/hypergrowth product and only possible exit is acquisition.

Yeah this is a solid chrome app store kind of solo dev project. 100 employees is absurd. I think they had a lot of early adopter VC users who really liked it and let their personal bias overwhelm better TAM analysis.

So true, its the type of product a person with tons of emails would find useful like VCs

Re: Email startup Superhuman lays off 22% of staff

#37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically, now that they've locked everyone in, they're demanding that you pay or delete emails. Scumbags.

They stopped giving the GB of free storage?

No, a GB is no longer that much, esp if you been with them since launch.

Re: Email startup Superhuman lays off 22% of staff

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically, now that they've locked everyone in, they're demanding that you pay or delete emails. Scumbags.

They stopped giving the GB of free storage?

4-5GB in 2008 is not the same as 15GB (That's their free tier, I think) in 2022.

Hard drives have grown in capacity far beyond 3x in the same time period. Even more so if you consider the $/GB value rather than just max capacity.

Re: Email startup Superhuman lays off 22% of staff

#39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically, now that they've locked everyone in, they're demanding that you pay or delete emails. Scumbags.

They stopped giving the GB of free storage?

> They stopped giving the GB of free storage?

It's now 15GB, but if you use Drive or Photos it uses the same quota pool.

Re: Email startup Superhuman lays off 22% of staff

#40
First, let me disclose that I like how Superhuman works, and I have copied/followed a lot of the advice from Rahul's writings/talks.

I got in long back during its beta invite, and my feeling was that this is what I was doing all along, save for the additional metadata, which is what Rapportive did. So, I left.

A few months back, I wanted to separate work emails, and I thought I would try it again. I got the onboarding with a super helpful and overly smiling nice guy. Even during the onboarding sessions, I popped up the obvious shortcuts, such as hitting "SHFT + ?" to quickly look for Keyboard shortcuts, and I was already flying around.

This may be personal, but I have long since decided to learn the tool that I use every day to know the ins and out, and I can move around pretty quickly with just two panes on my Apple Mail without ever touching the mouse or clicking on an icon. So, Superhuman wasn't much of an addition except for the extra information and guides that felt good, but I quickly realized that I don't need most of those.

I unsubscribe ruthlessly, while the newsletter I like to read are on separate IDs (gmail) from my primary email IDs (personal, family, work), and I'm not important enough to be flooded with emails. So, my Inboxes are pretty tamed most of the time. Yes, my weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly digital chores do help.

Here is my worry with Superhuman. With that much of a valuation -- I don't see it becoming a standalone self-sustaining mega business but Rapportive in steroid married to a Mail App. Rahul seems to have a pretty emotional solid nostalgia with Rapportive that the idea of Rapportive is everywhere in Superhuman. Nonetheless, I feel Superhuman is super awesome on its own if it does not carry the weight of the "magical wand" that Rahul and team sells everywhere.

I no longer use Superhuman but I will definitely get it for others in my team -- marketing, sales will definitely love Superhuman.

P.S. I usually take shots of my Mail App around early each year. They come in handy while showing it to few people who thinks I've grappled with some sort of a productivity panache in a way and ask me for regular ideas and suggestions. Here are some with Apple Mail Interface, hoping this will inspire someone to experiment;

- https://cdn.oinam.com/img/oinam/brajeshwar-apple-macos-mail-...

- https://cdn.oinam.com/img/oinam/brajeshwar-apple-macos-mail-...

- https://cdn.oinam.com/img/oinam/brajeshwar-apple-macos-mail-...

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