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yaknow

22 karma · joined November 1, 2010

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yaknow··on Ask HN: Should I sell my SaaS (400k rev)?
You've probably done some churn analysis at this point -- do you know what % is passive churn (i.e. payment-related) versus customers who are explicitly canceling?

I'd consider spreadsheeting the biggest leaks and getting super aggressive with multiple approaches. Empower your team, consult with professionals, leverage third party tools, outsource... all out offensive.

It's difficult to know the ONE THING that will increase retention, but improving many things by a percent or two will give you noticeable lift.

And by compressing it into a short timeframe, you'll reduce the number of variables around cohorts, seasonality, etc.

yaknow··on How Manpacks boosted their average order size 84% and reduced churn to under 2%
Can you point to a 5x markup on our site? Not a challenge, just a question because we try to stay at least remotely competitive to other online pricing. I'd be shocked to find product for 1/5 the price somewhere.
yaknow··on How Manpacks boosted their average order size 84% and reduced churn to under 2%
It wasn't only adding products, but adding the flexibility to easily add/remove products via a customer dashboard (while we curated/marketed products we liked) that allowed us to up our AOV. When we launched it was just "pick your plan" and we'd automate the rest -- so we sacrificed a little of the simplicity of automation for the flexibility of service and customization.

Nothing ingenious, just a decision we made that worked.

yaknow··on Which start-up inspired you most in 2010?
Quora (http://www.quora.com) has assembled a community of brilliant people who inspire me daily. Q&A done right - hope it stays this good!
yaknow··on How HN Helped Manpacks Take Off
Make sure you are comparing apples to apples, not men's shirts to boy's. Etc.
yaknow··on How HN Helped Manpacks Take Off
HN and Reddit have always been very helpful in pointing out Manpacks' price competitiveness with Amazon. :)

To put it into perspective, using Hanes crew necks (that seem to be a baseline for comparison) you're paying a "discounted" $12.99 for a 3-pack on Amazon. Not including shipping -- or what you pre-pay using Prime -- that's $4.33 a shirt. Manpacks lists them at $5, with free shipping on orders above $30.

If you just don't see the value in not having to think about or shop for the basics, then that 67¢ savings will be the deciding factor.

yaknow··on How HN Helped Manpacks Take Off
www.graze.com is doing snack subscriptions over in the UK. Haven't found a similar service in the US yet.