hi everyone,
we wanted to share an update regarding our previous financial update. If you haven’t read that post yet, go check it out first.
in this post we want to respond to some common questions and suggestions, provide an update on what we’re planning to do next, and tell you how you can help.
the numbers
first off: an update on how numbers have changed since our update on Monday. we’ve seen a large increase in cohost plus subscriptions, exceeding our expectations significantly. these numbers are accurate as of yesterday, March 14th (stripe only updates every 24-48 hours):
| Category | As of March 14 | As of March 11 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active subscribers | 3,311 | 2,630 | +25.9% |
| Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) | $21,467.49 | $14,536.03 | +47.7% |
| Subscriber churn rate | 1.63% | 2.63% | -38% |
| Revenue per subscriber | $6.48 | $5.53 | +17.1% |
| Monthly active users (MAU) | 30,149 | 29,846 | +1% |
| MAU -> Subscriber conversion rate | 11% | 8.8% | +25% |
this is all, objectively, really great! it has been motivating over the last few days to see how much cohost means to a lot of y’all. even with this boost in MRR, we’re still operating at a loss of, on average, $17k per month, so we’ve got some other plans to help make that up.
the good news is the cash infusion from this recent subscriber wave (a bit over $20k after payment processing) combined with some funding offers we’ve received means we’re comfortable saying we’ve got at least six more months to make up that shortfall in one way or another.
more details follow! keep reading!
livejournal also ran on a subscription model, which barely kept the lights on. every time a new server was needed, cash had to be raised. livejournal tried selling "permanent accounts" at ~250$ a pop, and it did work well enough to buy new hardware
however, this is not where the story ends: one valentines day, livejournal let you buy a rose and send it to someone to put on their profile. it was entirely done for fun and as a novelty gimmick. it generated more cash than all the permanent accounts put together, which shouldn't be that surprising. people are hesitant about subscriptions but people will spend a dollar now and then because it's fun. just like the eggbug plush.
unfortunately, that's not the entire story.
livejournal eventually sold out and retreated into adverts. although targeting people's disposable income is good, there's no real way to make it predictable, or sustainable. well, not without going down the path of free to play, gatcha, and gamification.
similarly, running a fundraiser takes an awful lot of time, energy, and promotion. places that rely on fundraising rely on sponsorship and volunteers to work, and neither of those are great options either.
a labour of love can only burn so brightly for so long.
i'm glad cohost is aiming a little higher

💜

