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0 pointsCryptoBanker4mo ago0 comments

It's very similar in that it's not a huge source of revenue for Planetscale, so easy to pull the rug without disrupting revenue too much

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carlm424mo ago

Similarly to other replies (but my own opinion): it's not a huge source of revenue today, on a single customer basis, compared to our biggest customers, sure. But our goal is to provide potential customers that can't justify larger scale, 3-nodes databases, something they can build on and grow on our platform. We would never want to pull the rug on paying customers: we want to enable them :-) sure it's not a huge part of our revenue, but that's not the goal. We just want to provide a great product, in a way that's affordable to everyone. You of course don't have to take my word, but I think it makes business sense to do this and not pull the rug. Compare to a free tier where you bleed money in the hopes that customers will end up paying you. Hope isn't a good business strategy right? :-)

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samlambert4mo ago

this makes no sense to me

hennell4mo ago

In what way? Companies drop/move on from small customers all the time as positions and analysis changes. $5 a month might make sense now, but with thin profits, a lower than predicted "upgrade rate" and maybe a higher than anticipated support cost etc and this becomes a less profitable option without price increases, which loses customers causing more increases because of none scalable costs etc.

Throw in a change of leadership or business focus and it's an easy short term boost to drop the many smaller customers and focus on the big fish who make the real money.

It's a common pattern, echoed over many industries, and while you might not see it being likely here right now, if the concept literally doesn't make sense to you, you need to look up some basic business ideas because it's a pretty valid concern.

CryptoBankerOP4mo ago

It's easier to pull the rug out from under a group of customers who earn you 5% of your revenue than it is to do the same thing to a group of customers who make you 25% of your revenue.

This small $5 plan is obviously not going to make Planetscale very much revenue.

slig4mo ago

It's not made to make money, but to funnel paid customers onto their platform.

samlambert4mo ago

but its entry level pricing for customers that grow. it will be great for us. there is no point hurting our reputation and slowing growth.

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carlm424mo ago

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samlambert4mo ago

this makes no sense to me

hennell4mo ago

Throw in a change of leadership or business focus and it's an easy short term boost to drop the many smaller customers and focus on the big fish who make the real money.

CryptoBankerOP4mo ago

It's easier to pull the rug out from under a group of customers who earn you 5% of your revenue than it is to do the same thing to a group of customers who make you 25% of your revenue.

This small $5 plan is obviously not going to make Planetscale very much revenue.

slig4mo ago

It's not made to make money, but to funnel paid customers onto their platform.

samlambert4mo ago

but its entry level pricing for customers that grow. it will be great for us. there is no point hurting our reputation and slowing growth.

1 more reply

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