Nick Bradbury has announced that NewsGator will be making future versions of FeedDemon subscription based software. As a developer I certainly see the value of a subscription based business model….when it fits. I’m not so sure it fits in this case, especially after reading this sentence from Greg Reinacker’s post regarding the matter.

…we really feel like this was the way to go, given the challenges we were facing selling (emphasis mine) into consumer, business, and enterprise markets all at once.

Decisions have to be made every day when a company is facing a challenge, especially when trying to integrate a newly acquired company but in this case, the decision does not seem very customer-centric. My feelings are that by doing this Newsgator is able to solve their problems and keep investors happy by creating a revenue stream that will be much more predictable. Unfortunately, this is done at the expense of some customers by moving the focus off of the actual use of the software to the tool itself when in fact it should remain transparent. As developers, no matter how much we would like it to be about the software, it simply isn’t.

It amazing how often this is not done but this tip is right on the money.

When you’re building something (not just prototyping), take the extra time to lay a good foundation. If you don’t, you’ll spend waste a lot of time in the future propping things up in ugly ways.

from Alex King

In today’s (06/29/2005) column from Harry Newton, he gives some good advice based on his years as an entreprenuer when compared to his former Harvard Business School classmates.

Messed up private lives: When I graduated from Harvard Business School in 1969, half the class went into investment banking. The other half went into management consulting. I didn’t. I became an entrepreneur, and for that, was universally derided. By our 20th reunion, I was gaining respect. By our 25th I was being consulted. My classmates’ “careers” had hit a wall. They’d been passed over for boss. the younger kids had fresher ideas and worked harder. My classmates had lived beyond their means. They were onto their second and third marriages. They had no savings. They were overweight and out of condition. And now there were no jobs for 50-year plus gray-hairs. What could I recommend? Sadly, little. Could I help their kids? Now, I increasingly do that. I give my standard talk:
+ Learn a new skill every six months. (Samples: negotiation; computers, investing, Excel.)
+ Get involved with business startups. Ultimately being an entrepreneur is what will give you peace of mind in your old age.
+ Save at least 10% of your income every month. Invest it in a wide variety of ventures.
+ Learn how to pick ventures.
+ Stay healthy. Lots of exercise and no over-eating.
+ Give back.

Every week I see posts that say that being an entrepreneur is the greatest thing ever because you get to set your own hours, take vacation when you want, and make a lot more money. Then I’ll go to another site that says being an entrepreneur is extremely difficult because you work 24 hours a day, there are never vacations, and you get paid a lot less considering the amount of time you’re working.

The truth is more in the middle in that, more than likely, you’ll eventually spend time on both ends of the spectrum if you keep at it long enough. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, the hard precedes the easy. In any case, here’s a post that asks if you have what it takes to handle being an entrepreneur.

Back in March, I profiled Clarke Scott of Vivid Software. Clarke has now released his product and reported that he made his first sale within two hours of the official announcement that his software was available.

Congrats Clarke!

Brad Wardell, founder of Stardock Corporation, tells us why he thinks anyone can make it and gives us his own story to explain why he feels the way he does. His story is not about his software business but about hard work no matter what your circumstances. But he does explain how this hard work led him to create a software business that made him a millionaire by 24.

via Coding Horror

Christopher Hawkins is like many microISV’s, he’s supporting his microISV aspirations as a self employed consultant. Christopher has recently acquired a new client and has given a long hard look at his existing clients which resulted in him ending some client relationships. He has an article outlining the 11 types of clients you need to fire right away.

The popularity of poker is evidenced by the fact that every channel on cable seems to have their own show with people playing Texas Hold Em. Now some software entrepreneurs are funding their software startup by playing online poker.

According to the article, one of the founders is averaging $100-$120 an hour. Sounds like the software venture may be the more risky of the two.

High-stakes start-ups

via kottke.org

Marshall Brain, founder of HowStuffWorks, gave a presentation to some students at Duke University on how to make a million dollars. Marshall gives a lot of advice based on his personal experiences which are as varied as publishing, consulting and web. He also has a website with a lot more information that I’m just starting to read myself but it is stuffed with a lot of useful information for entrepreneurs.

Marketing guru Seth Godin says what we’ve been saying all along. Small is the new big.

via 37 signals

If you are interested in writing for microISV.com, send me an email using the Submit Information link at the top of the middle column telling me a little about yourself. I’ve had a shift in priorities lately and have less time to post.

Another idea I’ve had is to open up registration to everyone to have a Metafilter style community, let me know if this would be of interest as well.

Mark Cuban points out that you only have to be right once.

…it doesnt matter how many times you fail. It doesnt matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and either should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because..

All that matters in business is that you get it right once.

via Scoble’s Link Blog

Michael Zammuto is a former CIO who left the corporate world to launch the microISV, Sapago Inc. Sapago’s first product, Art-FID, allows art galleries to leverage RFID and handheld technologies to boost sales by reducing the dreaded words “just looking” from customers.

Read the rest of this entry »

A few months back I profiled Phil Wright of Crownwood Software where he detailed his experiences of creating and running a microISV while employed. Phil is now in the process of creating a new product and company and will be documenting his experiences.

Paul Graham writes that people in their 20’s should be the one’s creating the newest startups. He takes on the stereotypes that younger people don’t have enough experience and explains why it would be better for all businesses, big and small, if 2o year olds were the one’s starting companies.

submitted by Chuck Tuffli