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Future of Web Apps Bristol presents "Dealing with Goliath" by Andy McLoughlin
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© 2009 Ninian Solutions Ltd
Dealing with Goliath
Andy McLoughlin
I am co-founder / strategy
director at Huddle.net
Huddle is a network of
secure online workspaces
for team collaboration
Huddle was launched in
April 2007
HQ in London, sales
office in Chicago
Growing fast (8 to 35
people in 12 months)
A little bit about me...
Who wants to build a $10M+ company?
Who wants to build the next $100M+ company?
Going big, quickly
Viral growth (Twitter) Acquisition (Writely) Deep pockets (Zoho) Partnerships
Partners = WIN(for Huddle.net)
A Very Civil Partnership Huddle provides the
application Partner provides the
network / leads / customers / sales force
Co-brand the application Revenue share on Huddle
subscriptions and advertising
Everyone gets rich and goes home early
Easy, right?
Not quite!
The early days Use nice graphics from the website (or ask
Keh)
Partnerships are bloody hard work!
Two very different partnerships
LinkedIn.com
Huddle.net
How it came about
Facebook POC
LinkedIn mock ups
Count down!
Development: Moving from fragile to agile
Building the thing
Internal Vs External Dev
Internal Development
Complete controlKnown high quality
× No OS expertise× Opportunity cost
External Development
Flexible resourceOpenSocial expertise
× Variable quality× Additional cost× Lack of control
Existing API Architecture
PHP Application on Linux Server
C# ASP.net Application on Windows Server
Huddle API
Private SOAP API
Proposed Solution: “Quick Win!”
PHP Application on Linux Server
C# ASP.net Application on Windows Server
Huddle API
Private SOAP API Open REST API(http://my.huddle.net/api)
IssuesNo such thing as a quick job
• New API calls
• Application changes
• Project management
• Marketing preparation
Scaling
One of only six global partners on
LinkedIn’s OpenSocial platform
October 2008
Lessons Learnt (OpenSocial) Never outsource build of a core product! Technical debt = FAIL Especially to a company on the other side
of the world Working across 4 time zones = EPIC FAIL There is no such thing as a quick job Be conservative on uptake stats and work
out your CPA – is it worth it? Don’t film in a basement!
Was it worth it?
Absolutely YES!
OpenSocial - the Future’s bright Re-use the Huddle
Workspaces app across other networks
Ning OS launching in mid June 2009
3rd OS launch in late June OpenSocial portability is
still an issue (~£8,000 to roll out a new network)
“How do I get on the platform?” Honest answer: be lucky Have ‘an in’ to the
platform team Meet face-to-face Have an application they
need Demonstrate ability to
deliver and scale No new applications for 3
to 6 months
InterCall.com
Huddle.net
An ‘unsexy’ deal
(about 15 months in the making!)
Money, money, money
“I have a cunning plan” Co-brand the Huddle app for InterCall Let InterCall bill them Inclusion on all InterCall setup emails Placement on InterCall homepage Get their sales people to create Huddle
accounts on initial call to new customers Mass provision existing 1M+ accounts Easy upsell to Huddle Enterprise for $$$ Manage it all from London
Making it work
• Technical challenges
• Legal challenges
• Sales challenges
• Marketing challenges
• Cultural challenges
May 2009
Lessons Learnt (The Big Co) Engaging the top level vision is easy You need to engage ‘the army’ Bridge the gap - you’re one step removed.
Need feedback of what is / isn’t working Clear value proposition for their customers Be ultra-conservative on revenue
estimates Be prepared for everything to take twice
as long as you’d hope!
Was it worth it?
Absolutely YES!
Partnerships – A Summary Good partnerships can deliver everything
you want but... Be realistic Pick your battles wisely Be prepared to invest Be prepared to wait Be prepared to argue, argue, argue Remember that David beat Goliath!
© 2009 Ninian Solutions Ltd
Thank you! Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @bandrew
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