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Running Costs of a SaaS app

cushionapp.com

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Re: Running Costs of a SaaS app

#91

Post by codeisawesome »

jmduke wrote: post #71
benevol wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I literally use none of any such paid services. Zero. It's really not that hard. Just automate what can be automated.

Automation isn't just a choice where you snap your fingers and it's done. Automation takes time and effort and adds technical debt and support burden; sometimes these are trivial amounts, sometimes they aren't. I use a service that sends me a bunch of fairly trivial Google Analytics data. It costs $10/month for the equivalent of fifty lines of Python. I know I could spend maybe two hours writing a replacement for it…

These are actually solid life advice for programmers: https://xkcd.com/1319/ & https://xkcd.com/1205/

Re: Running Costs of a SaaS app

#92

Post by codeisawesome »

destroytoday wrote: post #30
machbio wrote: post #21

Is it really important to distinguish your web application with another font - looks like he spent $500 on Web fonts, which is a lot for a startup ?

It’s less about distinguishing the app with another font and more about designing the app with what I had in mind—the system fonts and more affordable fonts didn’t feel right to me. Even though I consider myself more of a developer, I went to school for design and it’s a big part of my work, so the look and feel is just as important to me as whether the app works or not. Sure, we could’ve saved $500, but I wouldn’t e…

The website looks wonderful, and considering just how much text you need to use to get ideas across, the font money seems well spent. The entire page looks... delicious.

Re: Running Costs of a SaaS app

#93

Post by codeisawesome »

uladzislau wrote: post #56

Definitely not lean. From the first look - too many tools and expenses for unknown no name startup. I'm wondering how much of these can be painlessly cut off?

Can you define 'painlessly'? I'd also read your detailed opinion / chart if you think similar results can be achieved with alternatives - especially because OP is being 100% transparent on what & why they need to spend.

Re: Running Costs of a SaaS app

#94

Post by lunaru »

rublev wrote: post #68
catapault wrote: post #67

It's surprising to see the cost of Intercom compared to everything else on the list. We recently reviewed how much it was costing our business, compared to the value we were getting out of it, and switched to a cheaper (and simpler) solution.

>and switched to a cheaper (and simpler) solution. Well don't leave us hanging.

I think this question comes up a lot and answers for this are usually a Google query away. However, Intercom does a lot of things. destroytoday even mentioned above that one primary use is email marketing, so it's probably only fair to consider what the combined costs are. In most cases, you'd need to pay for both a helpdesk + an email marketing app.

In that light, the grandparent's post might not be a fair comparison, since he/she might be only talking about customer support functionality. In that case, there are far cheaper alternatives. Even heavy weight companies like Zendesk will likely be cheaper by comparison, but you won't get the marketing part built in.

On the other hand alternatives like Drift have been mentioned above which seem more like a fair direct one-for-one comparison with Intercom, and will usually come out cheaper.

Disclaimer: I'm the founder of Reamaze, which competes in the helpdesk (not marketing) space.

Re: Running Costs of a SaaS app

#95

Post by potato122 »

First, thanks for boldly sharing. It's quite an accomplishment to finish anything.

You guys definitely spent a lot where it doesn't count ($2k for a cool secondary domain, $1-2k for fonts and SSL, ...), but if you've made it all back then good job forget I said anything.

appname+app.com was probably not the best idea. Domain name hacks are confusing, and you are now indirectly working for appname.com

A startup's name means everything and nothing. All that matters is that it's short, relevant and memorable. clownmaker.com will always be better than clownapp.com

Alright I'm done with the unwarranted advice. Really good job.

Re: Running Costs of a SaaS app

#97

Post by patio11 »

Worth noting: costs for people blow costs for software/services out of the water. I was notoriously spendthrift with regards to SaaS services ("gotta catch them all!") and spent ~$3 on people last year for every $1 on services. (And if I had had any FTEs that would have been substantially higher.)

Over ~10 years running SaaS apps I generally managed to pretty consistently find ways to spend 40% of revenue.

Also worth noting: as you get further from "things which are made by devs-running-businesses-as-hobbies-for-devs-running-businesses-as-hobbies" towards "business inputs sold by businesses to businesses" costs skyrocket. You're going to spend plural thousands of dollars on bookkeeping and tax compliance every year. You will eventually need a contract reviewed; that will probably cost you a few hundred bucks. You're going to get a business insurance policy; you'll find the bidding starts at a grand. etc, etc

Re: Running Costs of a SaaS app

#98

Post by wwalser »

destroytoday wrote: post #2

:waves: Hi, I'm the founder of Cushion. I'd be happy to answer any questions about our running costs or transparency. (Thanks for posting, @Sujan!)

Thus far legal has been one my most significant cost (incorporation + NY qualification). Perhaps I'm doing it wrong -_-. What do your numbers there look like?

Re: Running Costs of a SaaS app

#99

Post by iampims »

jmduke wrote: post #71
benevol wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I literally use none of any such paid services. Zero. It's really not that hard. Just automate what can be automated.

Automation isn't just a choice where you snap your fingers and it's done. Automation takes time and effort and adds technical debt and support burden; sometimes these are trivial amounts, sometimes they aren't. I use a service that sends me a bunch of fairly trivial Google Analytics data. It costs $10/month for the equivalent of fifty lines of Python. I know I could spend maybe two hours writing a replacement for it…

> I use a service that sends me a bunch of fairly trivial Google Analytics data. It costs $10/month for the equivalent of fifty lines of Python.

Would you mind sharing which service that is?

Re: Running Costs of a SaaS app

#100

Post by briandear »

catapault wrote: post #70
rublev wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>and switched to a cheaper (and simpler) solution. Well don't leave us hanging.

I didn't want to come across as advertising something. We noticed that we weren't making use of much more than email support, so we switched to GrooveHQ. Their pricing is much more reasonable, and their story and the way they interact with their customers is great. But really, there are tons of options out there. My point is that if you're not making the most of what Intercom offers, then it's pretty damn expensive.

I switched from Freshdesk to Groove as well.. after an aborted attempt at Zendesk.. Groove is definitely my favorite; easy and lightweight.
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