"... Why not just make it free?... I have over 13000 hits and 4000 beta applications and growing at about 1000 a day. So what the heck do I do with the other beta applicants to entice them to become clients? What kind of buy-in can I expect? 30%, 5%? ..."
Because the question is how do I increase paying users and the (unstated constraint) growth is increasing which costs. At some time the service has to become ramen profitable.
you can sell advertising or you can raise capital - if you are growing that quickly you should have no problem raising capital. Charging people is one way to drastically halt your growth, though - if that is what you are after
"... if you are growing that quickly you should have no problem raising capital. Charging people is one way to drastically halt your growth, though - if that is what you are after ..."
Good point.
Do you think it would it deter users if they wanted extra features? Casual users might want to stick with zero cost but I wonder if business users might be willing to be charged for extra features that free users cannot use?
Because the question is how do I increase paying users and the (unstated constraint) growth is increasing which costs. At some time the service has to become ramen profitable.