5 stages of xobni's growth and 5 pivots along the way

The 5 stages of Xobni’s growth & 5 pivots along the way Matt Brezina Co-founder, Xobni Twitter: @brezina mattbrezina.com/blog

The Big Idea 2

The Big Idea Google organized the world’s public data 2

The Big Idea Google organized the world’s public data But, personal data is different 2

The Big Idea Google organized the world’s public data But, personal data is different + There is no Google of personal information 2

The Big Idea Google organized the world’s public data But, personal data is different + There is no Google of personal information + 10x more personal data in the world than public info 2

The Big Idea Google organized the world’s public data But, personal data is different + There is no Google of personal information + 10x more personal data in the world than public info + Most personal data is trapped in email 2

The Big Idea Google organized the world’s public data But, personal data is different + There is no Google of personal information + 10x more personal data in the world than public info + Most personal data is trapped in email = Foundation for Xobni 2

The Situation 3

The Situation • 22 & 25 years old • Never had a “real job” • $12k in the bank 3

The Result 4

The Result • A lean startup was our only option 4

The Result • A lean startup was our only option • We had a lot to learn about email 4

5 stages of Xobni Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

1. Stealth 1.5 years 50 users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

1. Stealth • Knew the vision, but not the product • Lots of pivots in early years • Pivot 1: Choosing Outlook • Pivot 2: Analytics to sidebar • Pivot 3: Raise $4M & hire 6 employees 1.5 years 50 users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

Pivot 1: Outlook 7

Pivot 1: Outlook • We wanted to build our own email client 7

Pivot 1: Outlook • We wanted to build our own email client • However, surveys & research showed Outlook was biggest among people with $ 7

Pivot 1: Outlook • We wanted to build our own email client • However, surveys & research showed Outlook was biggest among people with $ • Our own email client would take huge marketing budget to get people to try 7

Pivot 1: Outlook • We wanted to build our own email client • However, surveys & research showed Outlook was biggest among people with $ • Our own email client would take huge marketing budget to get people to try • Lower user adoption risk on Outlook 7

Xobni Analytics 8

Xobni Analytics Analytics was our 6 week project to understand email better and establish thought leadership. 8

Xobni Analytics Analytics was our 6 week project to understand email better and establish thought leadership. That took over 4 months to build 8

Xobni Analytics Analytics was our 6 week project to understand email better and establish thought leadership. That took over 4 months to build And wasn’t a product people would use on a daily basis 8

Xobni Analytics Analytics was our 6 week project to understand email better and establish thought leadership. That took over 4 months to build And wasn’t a product people would use on a daily basis But gave us the understanding for our next pivot 8

Email is about people 9

And no email clients cared about people 10

We decided to make email about people 11

Pivot 2: Moved from analytics to sidebar 12

Pivot 2: Moved from analytics to sidebar How we came to this realization 12

Pivot 2: Moved from analytics to sidebar How we came to this realization • Selling Xobni Analytics to investors; best pitch was what we could tell them about people 12

Pivot 2: Moved from analytics to sidebar How we came to this realization • Selling Xobni Analytics to investors; best pitch was what we could tell them about people •Dog fooding on our own email 12

Pivot 3: Raise VC to hire 13

Pivot 3: Raise VC to hire • Building product for enterprise users was more work than we thought 13

Pivot 3: Raise VC to hire • Building product for enterprise users was more work than we thought • Couldn’t hire with $80k in bank 13

Pivot 3: Raise VC to hire • Building product for enterprise users was more work than we thought • Couldn’t hire with $80k in bank • Potential employees got away 13

Pivot 3: Raise VC to hire • Building product for enterprise users was more work than we thought • Couldn’t hire with $80k in bank • Potential employees got away • Raised $4M and hired 6 people 13

2. Private Beta 1.5 9 years months 50 60k users users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

2. Private Beta • Worked towards product/market ﬁt • Heavy focus on performance • Most surveying, user studies, starbucks testing in company history • Cut 1/2 of features • Pivot 4: People proﬁles 1.5 9 years months 50 60k users users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

Pivot 4: Do one thing, and do it right: People proﬁles 15

3. Public Beta 1.5 9 1 year years months 2M 50 60k users users users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

3. Public Beta • Business will be dual prong: direct to consumer & enterprise • Raise $10M from Cisco & BlackBerry • Pivot 5 - Search not relationships for 1st premium 1.5 9 1 year years months 2M 50 60k users users users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

Pivot 5: Search not relationships for 1st premium 17

Pivot 5: Search not relationships for 1st premium • Xobni stands on two pillars: search & relationship management 17

Pivot 5: Search not relationships for 1st premium • Xobni stands on two pillars: search & relationship management • Planned on monetizing relationship features ﬁrst 17

Pivot 5: Search not relationships for 1st premium • Xobni stands on two pillars: search & relationship management • Planned on monetizing relationship features ﬁrst • However, one engineer convinced me to sell a search product ﬁrst – something we needed to build anyway – low market risk – low execution risk for team 17

Pivot 5: Search not relationships for 1st premium • Xobni stands on two pillars: search & relationship management • Planned on monetizing relationship features ﬁrst • However, one engineer convinced me to sell a search product ﬁrst – something we needed to build anyway – low market risk – low execution risk for team • The birth of Xobni Plus 17

4. GA & Biz model 1.5 9 1 year 6 years months months 2M 50 60k users users users 3M users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

4. GA & Biz model • Came out of beta - enterprise adoption • Needed business model to fund paid growth • Rev line 1: Xobni Plus • Rev line 2: Xobni Enterprise • Rev line 3: Xobni BlackBerry • Rev line 4: Xobni One 1.5 9 1 year 6 years months months 2M 50 60k users users users 3M users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

Xobni Free for Outlook

Free Premium Xobni Free for Outlook

Free Premium Xobni Plus Xobni Free $29.95 for Outlook

Free Premium Xobni Plus Xobni Free $29.95 for Outlook Xobni Enterprise $36/user/yr

Free Premium Xobni Blackberry $9.99 Xobni Plus Xobni Free $29.95 for Outlook Xobni Enterprise $36/user/yr

Free Premium Xobni Blackberry $9.99 Xobni One $3.99/mo Xobni Plus Xobni Free $29.95 for Outlook Xobni Enterprise $36/user/yr

Free Premium Xobni Blackberry $9.99 Xobni One $3.99/mo New mobile & email Xobni platforms Plus Xobni Free $29.95 for Outlook Xobni Enterprise $36/user/yr

5. Growth 1.5 9 1 year 6 years months months 2M 6 50 50 users months users users 3M 5M users users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

5. Growth • Taking Xobni experience to new mobile & email platforms 1.5 9 1 year 6 years months months 2M 6 50 50 users months users users 3M 5M users users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

5. Growth • Taking Xobni experience to new mobile & email platforms • Aggressively acquiring new Outlook users 1.5 9 1 year 6 years months months 2M 6 50 50 users months users users 3M 5M users users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

5. Growth • Taking Xobni experience to new mobile & email platforms • Aggressively acquiring new Outlook users • Sales team adding new enterprise accounts 1.5 9 1 year 6 years months months 2M 6 50 50 users months users users 3M 5M users users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

5. Growth • Taking Xobni experience to new mobile & email platforms • Aggressively acquiring new Outlook users • Sales team adding new enterprise accounts • Building new products to monetize Outlook, mobile & web users 1.5 9 1 year 6 years months months 2M 6 50 50 users months users users 3M 5M users users Private Public GA & Biz Stealth Growth Beta Beta model

The 5 stages of Xobni’s growth & 5 pivots along the way Matt Brezina Co-founder, Xobni Twitter: @brezina mattbrezina.com/blog

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5 stages of xobni's growth and 5 pivots along the way

by Matt Brezina on May 03, 2010

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