Bending Spoons. Hard to leave.
Great products and hard-to-leave products look the same for 20 years. Bending Spoons has just proven they were never the same thing.
THE GIST ON BENDING SPOONS: "Hard to leave"
Who are Bending Spoons?
An Italian company you've probably never heard of. It owns Evernote, WeTransfer, Vimeo, AOL and about 40 other apps you use. Last month it floated on the Nasdaq for $18 billion.
It started in Milan in 2013. Their first company failed, they tried building an AI diary app and ran out of money, and figured something out. Why build the next great app when you can buy the last one?
What is the plan?
Thirteen years and 50 acquisitions later, half a billion people use at least one of their apps. The plan is the same every time: buy the app, fire 70 to 100% of the staff, hike prices and cap the free tier.
Evernote's personal plan went from $70 to $130. Even the CEO, Luca Ferrari, says that if someone wants to see nothing change, they're not a good buyer. He's not hiding it because he doesn't have to.
What did Silicon Valley build?
Silicon Valley spent 20 years telling itself it was building relationships with customers. Let's be honest, it was building infrastructure users couldn't leave.
Bending Spoons noticed that every user with 10,000 notes in Evernote can't easily switch. The ability to leave now has a price. Silicon Valley created it for free, and Bending Spoons is charging for it.
So what is a great product?
Every great tech product you love is two things at once: something you enjoy, and something you can't easily walk away from. For 20 years they looked the same.
Bending Spoons has just proven that love was optional. This was never a matter of if, only when.
Is Bending Spoons' model fair game?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
What does Bending Spoons own?
Evernote, WeTransfer, Vimeo, AOL and about 40 other apps, according to Huw.
What is its playbook?
Buy the app, fire 70 to 100% of the staff, hike prices and cap the free tier.
Why does it work?
Users with years of data, like 10,000 notes in Evernote, can't easily switch, so the ability to leave now has a price.
See you on the next one.
What should the next one be? Suggest a topic for Huw to explain
The conversation
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