OpenSource Startup Case Studies with Sramana Mitra

The 1Mby1M Methodology is based on case studies. In this course, Sramana Mitra shares the tribal knowledge of tech entrepreneurs by giving students the rare seat at the table with the entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders who provide the most instructive perspectives on how to build a thriving business. Through these conversations, students gain access to case studies exploring the alleys of entrepreneurship. Sramana’s synthesis of key learnings and incisive analysis add great depth to each discussion.

Freemium = Free + Premium. You give something away for free and start engaging with a user base. From this emerges a potential customer base, aka prospects. You sell these prospects something that they’re willing to pay good money for, aka premium. Voila, you have a Freemium business.

Brilliant, but there’s a slight problem. Freemium conversion rates tend to be very low. Abysmally low. You’re considered a genius if you get to 4%. Already at 2%, you’re borderline heroic. Mere mortals hang around 0.5%.

Nonetheless, at its best, Freemium is a highly sought after business model among investors.

And Commercial OpenSource is where Freemium business models find some of their best exponents.

In fact, we’re thrilled to see how well solo entrepreneurs do with this business model.

Or entrepreneurs bootstrapping using a paycheck.

Entrepreneurs bootstrapping with services often offer training and support as their Premium tier and it monetizes superbly, bringing in vital cash infusion to early stage startups.

In this course, I will introduce you to a number of OpenSource case studies.

Observe how the entrepreneurs navigated their journeys, both the Free stage and the Premium stage.

Pay attention to the decisions they made on where to put the paywalls.

Find inspiration.

Find education.

Copy. Steal. Mash up.

Have fun!