Friday, January 7, 2011

The @DimDim exit plan for you freeloaders

Warning: this is a bitchy post.

SalesForce.com acquired DimDim (online collaboration software) for $31M. First of all, congrats for that. We always love to hear when someone in this business gets rewarded for good work they've done. If you work for DimDim, now would be the time to stop reading, because that's pretty much the last good word you will hear from me during this post.

I was introduced to DimDim a couple of years ago, when I was invited to an online presentation that used their tool. The person who invited me was naturally a founder of a startup (it's what we do). I was happy and a bit surprised to see that someone offered a free option to run quick presentations, limited by features and number of participants, but good enough for most bootstrap joints to use when they needed to show-off their stuff. I installed it on my machine, of course, and gave it a shot too.
Since then I didn't actually use it much, since I didn't find it good enough for my own needs, but I have told many people and startups about it. In our lean & mean startup world, every penny counts, so instead of spending $50/month on other services, DimDim really did seem like a good, free, sane option for the occasional broke presenter.
Not sure how many free users DimDim had, but I believe that the "freeloaders" took their role in making the DimDim platform a very popular online sharing tool. Don't you?

Enter the ungrateful part of this evening. I read @TechCrunch as much as the next guy, but I got introduced to the fact that salesforce.com acquired DimDim through the following email I got from DimDim:


Dear Customer:

Dimdim has been acquired by salesforce.com. Your free Dimdim account will remain active until March 15, 2011. After that date, you will no longer be able to access your free Dimdim account.

Please see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for additional information.

We appreciate your understanding, and we thank you!


The Dimdim Team
Pursuant to the Dimdim Terms of Use (the “Agreement”) governing the use of Dimdim Inc.’s (“Dimdim”) Site and Services (as defined under the Agreement) by you (“You”), Dimdim is hereby exercising its right to terminate Your Dimdim Account and the Agreement in its entirety. Dimdim will continue to provide Services to you until March 15, 2011. Following March 15, 2011, neither You nor Dimdim shall have any further rights or obligations of any kind under the Agreement, including the right to access the Site, or receive or use any Services. Dimdim thanks you for your business, and wishes you success in the future.

Dimdim, 900 Chelmsford St. Lowell, MA 01851
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Now let me tell you my take, or what I actually read between the lines:
Dear FreeLoader and Ex-Customer,

We just got acquired for $31M. We're rich. Richer than you will ever be. If anyone tells you that "freemium" models can't bring happiness, just send them a picture of us, fishing.
We did it all by ourselves, and we are extremely happy to tell all of you so-called "customers", who made us so wildly popular by using our free service, that you can go F yourself. We do not think you had any contribution to making us popular, and we don't think you are even remotely related to the fact that we are now filthy rich. As such, while the negotiation with salesforce.com was going on, we didn't think it was appropriate to demand, as part of our severance packages and all that, that our free service remains free, at least until people forget that the salesforce.com online sharing tool was once DimDim. In fact, you should be grateful that we're letting you keep the service for another two months. We award you with a valuable lesson - there is no free lunch in this world. We really wish we could see your face as you read this announcement, but we're a bit drunk from the champagne and generally have better things to do.

P.S. Aren't you glad our lawyers made sure we can terminate your account at will ? Oh, don't bother to get up, here's the relevant paragraph from our TOS, which you never bothered to read when you signed up to our free service.

Jokes aside for a minute, I would have done it differently. I don't believe in "exit strategies" per se, and I believe that you should always think about how to make a successful and sustainable product that people need, and hence will want to pay for. An exit is something that happens when another company realizes that you've done such a fantastic job, that they want you and your product as part of their offering. DimDim was big on the "freemium" model, and it's a big part of what made them successful. Dropping the free, and leaving the "mium" before the body of their acquired organization is cold leaves a bad taste in my mouth. DimDim is officially worth $31M - are you telling me that the "free" part has no part in this ? How much money is salesforce.com saving by cancelling the free service? Time will tell if this was the right business decision, but I, for one, think that this was the wrong moral decision.

"So long and thanks for that big fish that just ate us".