Two new records and another setback
Open Startup Report March 2023

So far, we have had a new record in every month of 2023. March is no exception with two records. Welcome to our Open Startup Report for March 2023.

March at Friendly in Numbers

  • 💳 Software revenue: 14 453 CHF (-0.1%)
  • 💵 Consulting revenue: 5 531 CHF (+25%)
  • 💸 Costs: 20 911 CHF (+8%)
  • 🧾 Loss: -927 CHF (+107% )
  • 👩 Active customers: 89 (-)
  • 💔 Churn Rate (lost customers): 2.8% (+65%)
  • 👋 New trials: 13 (+63%)
  • 🔎 Website visits: 2 938 (-3%)

These were the key developments in March:

Revenues: minimal decline in recurring software revenue, significant increase in consulting revenue

Our monthly recurring revenue from software subscriptions fell for the first time in five months – albeit only minimally by -0.1%. This corresponds to a decline of CHF -17.

Our MRR from March 2022 to March 2023

Our consulting revenue, on the other hand, rose by a substantial +25% to CHF 5 531. This is the highest consulting revenue in our history, slightly higher than the previous record in January 2023. The largest consulting projects in March were the setup of an enterprise instance of Friendly Automate, consulting on a complex project with Friendly Analytics and a lectureship at the Fachschule für Detailhandel, Verkauf & E-Commerce Zürich.

Our total income amounted to CHF 19 984 – which is also a record for us.

Costs: increased due to more expenses for freelancers

Our costs rose by +8% to CHF 20 911 – another record. The biggest increase was in salaries. As we had significantly more consulting assignments, we could not cover them all with our employees. We therefore had significantly higher costs for freelancers.

Our hosting costs also increased slightly because we needed an additional server for Friendly Automate.

Here are all our costs including salaries for March 2023 in detail:

Conclusion

Our recurring software revenue fell minimally in March, but consulting revenue and, unfortunately, our costs were at record levels.

At least our loss of “only” CHF 927 is a far cry from previous records. The negative peak was April 2022, our “toughest month”, with a loss of CHF -5 765. I can easily cross-finance a loss of this amount with the income from my second company.

I remain very confident that we will achieve long-term profitability this year. This is also supported by the significant increase in demand in the form of ordered trial licenses – although we will only see the effect of this in the current month.


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