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Freemium
Freemium, Conversion Rates and More: AVG CEO J.R. Smith (Part 2)
Sramana: How long did your journey in cellular continue? J.R. Smith: My U.S. experience in cellular lasted until 1997. Shortly before VoiceStream was acquired by T-Mobile, I left to go on a temporary assignment with Motorola in Prague. They were deploying a network for Radio Mobile and I knew a lot about network deployment, cite
Freemium, Conversion Rates and More: AVG CEO J.R. Smith (Part 1)
If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. J.R. Smith is the CEO of AVG, which offers antivirus solutions through a freemium model. Prior to joining AVG, Smith served as chief executive officer of United Kingdom-based Dot Mobile Limited, a mobile virtual network operator he cofounded in 2005 and that partnered with Vodafone Group
How To Make Freemium Work: Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Glu Mobile (Part 7)
Sramana: What are some of your key lessons learned from Glu and the other companies you have led? Niccolo de Masi: Over the years I have learned that it is important to be adaptable, that actions speak louder than words and that sometimes you just have to try things out. We are quick to try
How To Make Freemium Work: Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Glu Mobile (Part 6)
Sramana: Let’s discuss your P&L. In general, I believe freemium is a capital-intensive strategy. The only way that strategy is viable is by raising a lot of capital. What are your thoughts? Niccolo de Masi: I think our industry has unique aspects. Our games monetize the day they are launched. Most of our users start
How To Make Freemium Work: Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Glu Mobile (Part 5)
Sramana: It seems like your core markets would be North America, Western Europe and Japan. Is that where most of your revenue comes from? Niccolo de Masi: We do generate a lot of revenue there as well, especially for the smart phones. We also do very well in China. We have a strong presence there
How To Make Freemium Work: Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Glu Mobile (Part 4)
Sramana: Would you talk about some of the smartphone games you have brought to the market and the business dynamics behind those games? Niccolo de Masi: When I started with Glu, I was cognizant of hardware and gaming preferences. Both tend to trend upward rapidly. Consumers demand higher quality content that shows off their new
How To Make Freemium Work: Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Glu Mobile (Part 3)
Sramana: What is the business model of Glu? Niccolo de Masi: Glu used to be a company where 100% of our revenues came from carrier billed stores. Today a majority of our model is coming from the Android Marketplace or from the Apple app marketplace. That is largely credit card billings, not carrier billing. In
How To Make Freemium Work: Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Glu Mobile (Part 2)
Sramana: You are saying that you identified a macro trend at the very beginning of that trend, correct? Niccolo de Masi: Yes, and I feel like I have been riding that macro trend for the past eight years. I believe it will only accelerate for the next eight years. We are going to start calling
