Alistair Croll

Backupify was good at focusing on a specific metric at a specific stage, in order to grow the company. “Initially, we focused on site visitors, because we just wanted to get people to our site,” said CEO and co-founder Robert May. “Then we focused on trials, because we needed people testing out our product.”
Once Backupify had people trialing the product in sufficient numbers, Robert focused on signups (conversions from free trial to paying customer). Now, the primary focus is monthly recurring revenue (MRR).

can jump back to Chapter 9 to learn more about SaaS metrics, or you can skip to Chapter 14 to find out how the stage of your business drives the metrics that matter to you.

It’s hard to strike a balance between having good content and enough ads to pay the bills.

the percentage of users who are lurkers versus creators

tiers of engagement create a natural funnel, from the completely disengaged, fly-by visitors who come just once, to the hardcore. One of the core functions of the site is to acquire one-time visitors and turn them into users with accounts, and ultimately, into collaborators.

overcame the chicken-and-egg issue by having content in place at the start.

Bud Caddell’s diagram belongs on every
career counselor’s wall

Don’t
launch a new product or enter a new market unless your existing product
and market affords you an unfair advantage.

For an intrapreneur, this question needs to be answered simply to get
approval for the project, but remember that you’re fighting the opportunity
cost—whatever the organization could be doing instead, or the profitability
of the existing business.

Never forget that you’re trying to answer three fundamental questions: