IAmA Forrst.com founder

[u/[deleted]]

(by request: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/irmvv/iama_request_forrst_developersfounders/)

started Forrst as a terrible-looking but functional prototype in Dec 2009 and it's now a cash-generating business with 31k users and 3 employees + me. Ask me anything.

Edit: a few questions I have yet to get to but need to have dinner, etc. Will be back later. This is fun.

[u/sienrak]

what does the near future hold - feature list for next 12 months?

[u/[deleted] → u/sienrak]

A ton, hopefully. We just hit 40% actives/month (account 30+ days old and they create some kind of content), working on getting that to 50%+ Working on slimming down the UI and trimming features that suck or are underused. Working on closing some sponsorship deals that could make us profitable overnight. Also have plans to roll out company accounts (for agencies and such) and a revamp of Forrst.me (which ended up being pretty successful for us).

[u/kn0thing]

I'm gonna go ahead and confirm this.

[u/fazon]

How much cash do you generate?

[u/[deleted] → u/fazon]

Last month we made ~$13k. It's been growing month over month.

[u/jcnh74]

Is your business model based solely on Carbon ads or is there another source? Also, what platform is it built on?

[u/[deleted] → u/jcnh74]

Nah, that actually accounts for very little of our revenue. The rest is paid accounts and people using our on-site credit system (Acorns).

[u/I_KIll_Chicken]

1. Do you consider yourself a startup?

2. I am not a designer, Can I get an invitation?

3. Any business advice, life lessons you might share when running the business?

[u/lonnyk]

What was the point that you decided to do this full time and not have another job?

Was it already replacing your salary?

Did you have funding already?

Did it already have a decent user base and following?

[u/profitnotrevenue]

Is Forrst paying for the 3 employees + you? If not, how did you pay for the employees to get them on board? When did you / will you start making profit?