2. FLOSSfunder
is
a
web-‐based
funding
platform
that
helps
application
developers
and
users
identify
desirable
new
features
and
fund
their
development.
In
this
presentation,
we
consider
several
aspects
of
our
business
model
–
marketing,
costs,
revenue
and
risks.
Our
marketing
strategy
starts
with
developers.
We
acquire
them
through
direct
and
viral
marketing,
SEO,
and
SEM,
and
activate
them
through
a
low-‐friction
landing
page.
Developers,
in
turn,
channel
their
users
to
our
platform.
Users
submit
feature
requests,
rank
them
through
a
voting
process
and
then
crowdfund
the
costs
of
development.
We
charge
a
small
service
fee
for
the
use
of
our
platform.
Overall
costs
to
develop
and
implement
this
platform
should
be
modest.
Technical
costs
include
web
design
and
hosting.
Marketing
will
be
done
through
the
Internet
-‐
primarily
email,
Skype
calls
and
Google
ads
–
to
keep
costs
low.
We
will
bootstrap
this
project
as
long
as
we
can.
Risks
include
lack
of
adoption,
conflicts
between
developers
and
users,
incorrect
pricing,
and
competition
from
other
feedback
sites.
3. Freeware
and
freemium
applications
provide
a
convenient
entry
point
for
consumers,
but
many
developers
fail
to
convert
their
users
into
paying
customers.
At
the
same
time,
users
often
need
specific
new
features
but
don’t
know
how
to
request
them.
4. FLOSSfunder
is
a
web-‐based
funding
platform
that
helps
software
developers
and
application
users
identify
desirable
new
features
and
fund
their
development:
• Developers
direct
users
to
a
request
form
• Users
submit
new
feature
requests
or
up-‐vote
existing
ones
• Developers
select
features
for
development
&
estimate
their
costs
• Users
crowdfund
the
developer's
costs
• When
the
developer
completes
the
update,
he
is
paid
• We
charge
a
small
fee
for
the
service
6. We have segmented the total market
into eight customer groups and are
targeting three:
The Total Available Market includes all
• We help Hobbyists gain incremental developers who are looking for new or
income from their applications by alternative revenue streams
engaging Regular Users in the
development process and converting The Served Market includes developers
who could increase their income through
them into paying customers. our web-based platform
• We help Struggling Entrepreneurs
The Target Market includes FLOSS
increase income from their applications developers with popular apps but low
by engaging Regular Users in the income and the regular users of their
applications
development process and converting
them into paying customers.
• We help Regular Users upgrade the
applications they use by providing them
with a way to request new features and
to finance their development.
7. • We
have
conducted
surveys
of
both
users
and
developers
and
interviews
with
developers
• 68%
of
application
users
would
be
willing
to
share
in
the
cost
of
funding
new
features
• Seven
out
of
nine
developers
indicated
they
would
be
interested
in
using
the
platform;
none
have
committed
• One
developer’s
comment:
We've
actually
considered
doing
this
ourselves
(and
have
had
users
beg
us
to
consider
the
model),
so
it
is
not
far
fetched
that
we
would
look
into
it.
8. Interviews
We use these
with
SEM
tools to acquire
developers
developers
Retention
SEO
blogs
email
A A
quality
email
c product
t Low-‐
friction
blogs
i landing
page
v
a Customer
t service
No
fees
for
i
developers
Referrals o
n
Incentives
to
developers
for
referrals
5
%
service
fee
9. Customer
Developers service
channel users to
our website from Retention A
quality
their applications product
widgets
Acquisition
Activation
email
Low-‐
friction
landing
page
App
Referrals websites
Referrals 5
%
service
fee
Social
Media
10. • Technical
costs
include
web
design
and
hosting
-‐
$
• We
will
do
the
backend
programming,
SEO,
maintenance
and
support
• Direct
marketing
via
email
and
Skype
calls
• Google
ad
campaigns
-‐
$
• No
salaries
until
we
have
income
• No
need
for
additional
staff
until
our
user
base
grows
• Costs
for
the
first
year
should
be
under
$5,000
• We
plan
on
bootstrapping
as
long
as
we
can
11. • We
will
charge
a
fee
on
top
of
the
developer's
costs
• We
will
do
a
pricing
analysis
before
finalizing
our
fee
• 5%
is
the
going
rate
for
crowdfunding
sites
• Example:
A
developer
estimates
$1,000
costs;
our
fee
is
5%;
a
crowdfunding
goal
of
$1,050
is
set
• We
rejected
membership
fees
for
developers
and
advertising
as
alternative
revenue
streams
12. • Developers
might
not
find
our
value
proposition
compelling
enough
to
convert.
We
will
mitigate
through
marketing.
• Developers
may
not
be
willing
to
channel
users
to
our
platform.
We
will
mitigate
through
education
and
onboarding.
• We
may
have
to
arbitrate
disagreements
between
developers
and
users.
We
will
mitigate
by
encouraging
clear
communications.
• Transaction
fees
may
eat
into
overall
revenue.
We
will
mitigate
through
our
pricing
analysis.
• User
review
websites
may
implement
a
crowdfunding
feature.
We
will
mitigate
through
speed
to
market.
