Natalie, who wrote the article, asked me to share this:
"Thanks for commenting. You are spot on, we weren't profitable in many other ways. The time we were spending on Newsberry could, and does, bring more profitability on our other products. In our opinion at Wildbit, half of an anything is not worth something. We don't build half-projects, and we don't put interns to work on them. But for many, it's hard to turn away $75/year."
So, someone who doesn't understand how to speak about profit correctly describues what happened under an eye-catching, surprising headline that turns out to be completely inaccurate and unsurprising.
I got what I expected: an article about why $75k in paper profits wasn't actually worth pursuing. Did you expect the article to say: "We don't want money on philosophic grounds"? Of course it's an article about why $revenue - $cost is the wrong metric. It's less linkbait than can be said for a lot of other articles.
I am not sure I understand, exactly what you are saying here. I am sure you guys could have devoted a day a week to find out what was lacking in Newsberry and make it better. Creating value rather than just destroying it. You said you were a company that prides itself on design, detail and quality, so why not make an existing profitable application better and reap the benefits from that effort.
Totally doesn't make any sense. Idealist for sure.
Nah, it's a focus thing. Juggling 3 projects instead of 2 has a pretty significant cost associated with it. Most people do 1 thing better than 2, and 2 things better than 3, etc.
It doesn't make logical sense but this isn't about logic as much as it is about emotion. You definitely get the sense after reading this that their hearts just weren't in it. For one reason or another that lack of continuing passion led them to shutter it rather than force themselves to work on something they just didn't have as much love for anymore. Plus it was an unprofitable time sink. Yes, it made money but the opportunity cost wasn't worth it considering their other projects.
Not all good decisions are based in objective reality. Never underestimate a gut feeling.
Just because emotions are involved doesn't mean the decisions aren't based in logic. It is totally logical to shut down a project that nobody really wants to work on, and one that wasn't making enough to justify its continued existence. Even if it's a source of profit.
After all, something like a mailing list service requires lots of ongoing care if it's to be any good (deliverability, etc).
googletron, are you familiar with the concept of opportunity cost?
It's not idealist, as you say, to shut down a project that is a time and energy suck. It's idealist to think a busy company with 2 very successful, well-loved projects should "devote a day a week" to a project that isn't nearly as profitable as the others, and which nobody really enjoys working on to boot.
"Thanks for commenting. You are spot on, we weren't profitable in many other ways. The time we were spending on Newsberry could, and does, bring more profitability on our other products. In our opinion at Wildbit, half of an anything is not worth something. We don't build half-projects, and we don't put interns to work on them. But for many, it's hard to turn away $75/year."