The document provides 14 tips for web app survival and 6 tips for easy acquisition. The tips include not building your own billing system, engaging with communities early, planning for A/B testing, making administration simple, using GitHub for code hosting, focusing on usability during wireframing, monitoring key metrics, using your app daily, and being passionate about your product. It also advises creating separate analytics accounts, starting domain transfers early, budgeting for legal and accounting fees, doing tax planning, and devoting full time to an acquisition for 4 months.

1. 14 Web App Survival Tips
(Learnt the hard fuckin’ way)

2. twitter.com/ryancarson
survival kick ass

3. Built four webtwitter.com/ryancarson
apps
Building a fifth: Truvay.com
Sold two
Sold two
Sold two
Sold two
Sold two

5. #1 twitter.com/ryancarson
Don't build your billing
system from scratch
Don't build your billing
system from scratch
Spreedly.com?

6. #2 twitter.com/ryancarson
Engage in the community
from day -63
Engage in the community
from day -63
You should be conversing on Twitter,
Facebook, your blog and at events
waaaaaaay before your launch

7. #3 twitter.com/ryancarson
Plan on A/B testing
from the start
from the start
from the start
Especially on your home and signup pages.
bit.ly/ab-test

8. twitter.com/ryancarson
What small change will
yield a 200% increase in
signups?

11. “See plans and pricing”
twitter.com/ryancarson
vs
“FREE Trial”
“FREE Trial”
“FREE Trial”
“FREE Trial”

12. twitter.com/ryancarson
#4
Create a new company
Create a new company
100% owned by your current company

14. twitter.com/ryancarson
#5
Make invoicing simple
Make invoicing simple
Use Xero.com and integrate with their API

15. twitter.com/ryancarson
#6
Charge in $ US Dollars
Charge in $ US Dollars

16. #7 twitter.com/ryancarson
Watch out for exchange
losses and gains
Watch out for exchange
losses and gains

17. #8 twitter.com/ryancarson
Choose your merchant
account carefully
Choose your merchant
account carefully

19. twitter.com/ryancarson
#91-click admin
functionality
1-click admin functionality
One-click refunds.
One-click password reset with an email sent out. One-
click resent invoice.
Make it easy to give customers “credits”.

20. twitter.com/ryancarson
#10Use GitHub
Use GitHub
Smart code repository hosting

21. twitter.com/ryancarson
#11Usability happens
during wireframing
during wireframing
balsamiq.com

23. twitter.com/ryancarson
#12Obsess over your
numbers
Obsess over your numbers
Pageviews, conversion rates, cost of acquisition per
customer, time to upgrade to paid,
revenue-per-head and % profit

24. twitter.com/ryancarson
#13Use your app every day
Use your app every day
and do the customer support for the first 12 months

25. twitter.com/ryancarson
#14Get passionate
Get passionate
If you’re not fanatical, why would anyone else be?

26. 6 Tips for easy acquisition

27. #1 twitter.com/ryancarson
Don’t plan on
getting acquired
getting acquired
getting acquired

28. #2 twitter.com/ryancarson
Create a separate account
for Google Analytics
Create a separate account
for Google Analytics

29. #3 twitter.com/ryancarson
Start the domain
transfer early
transfer early
transfer early

31. on lawyers and
twitter.com/ryancarson
accountants
Plan on spending $20,000
on lawyers and
accountants

32. #5 twitter.com/ryancarson
Do some serious
tax planning
tax planning
tax planning
We paid zero corporation tax on the DropSend sale

33. #6Expect to devote 100%
twitter.com/ryancarson
of your time to the sale for
4+ months
Expect to devote 100% of
your time to the sale for
4+ months

34. Thanks!
twitter.com/ryancarson