Our team gave up part of their salary, we received a lot of support and our loss fell by -48%: Welcome to our Open Startup Report for November 2022.
Contents
November at Friendly in Numbers
- 💳 Software revenue: CHF 13’769 (+5%)
- 💵 Consulting revenue: CHF 1’856 (+75%)
- 💸 Costs: CHF 18’197 (-5%)
- 🧾 Loss: CHF -2’572 (-48%)
- 👩 Active customers: 78 (-)
- 💔 Churn Rate (lost customers): 2.6% (-32%)
- 👋 New trials: 6 (-)
- 🔎 Website visits: 4’264 (+43%)
- 📮 Emails sent (Automate): 244’181 (-)
- 📈 Pageviews tracked (Analytics): 1’606’831 (+13%)
These were the key developments in November:
Light on the horizon
After a financially disastrous October, we see some light on the horizon again. After our monthly recurring revenue fell for the first time in over a year, we recorded an increase of +5% to CHF 13 769 in November.
Our non-recurring revenue from consulting is naturally volatile. Here too, November was significantly better than the previous month at +75%. Among other things, we generated CHF 1 856 with individually designed email templates and landing pages.
Our costs fell by almost CHF 1 000 month-on-month to CHF 18 197, which is a decrease of -5%. The main reason was that our team gave up part of their salary.
Thanks to these developments, we are getting a little closer to profitability again after last month’s setback. Our loss fell from CHF -4 941 in October to CHF -2 572 in November. That is -48% less.
What are the next steps? This December, we are on track financially thanks to the cost-cutting measures and stable revenue. We are confident that we will be able to reach the black figures next year. As long as we get up every day, turn on the lights and do our best.
Once again for November we are sharing all our costs including salaries. Here they are:
When your boss asks you for a pay cut
I had to ask our team for a pay cut. That wasn’t easy for me.
Our Joey described why I did this, how we implemented it and what emotions it triggered in a blog post.
The corresponding post on LinkedIn triggered an above-average amount of feedback with over 15 093 views, 73 reactions and a good dozen comments.
It’s not easy to show vulnerability and admit weakness. Although it would usually be a good thing. How can someone help you if no one knows how you really feel? And we have received a lot of support and help in recent weeks.
Here are some reactions to the post that made us particularly happy:
It doesn’t matter where the servers are
Another post triggered a wide response in November. I came across a blog post by David Heinemeier Hansson, the creator of Ruby on Rails and co-founder & CTO of 37signals (Basecamp & HEY).
In this post, David dispels the common misconception that a server location in Switzerland or the EU alone makes software from US companies such as Microsoft, Google or HubSpot compliant with local data protection regulations.
I translated the post into German with the author’s permission and posted it on LinkedIn. The reach was huge by our standards: 37 465 impressions, 21 shared posts, 274 reactions and 31 comments.
This shows that there is still a great deal of legal uncertainty in Switzerland and the EU regarding the use of software from the US. Incidentally, Friendly is one of the few software providers that only stores all data with providers headquartered in Switzerland or the EU – and not in the clouds of US tech companies.
