While the Mailstrom web app for clearing out e-mail inbox clutter is free to test out, it’s no longer a free product for use in the long-term.
Earlier this month 410 Labs, the startup that built Mailstrom, introduced a monthly and annual pricing tier for the service. Once a user clears out 25 percent of their inbox messages, they’ll have to sign up to continue using Mailstrom.
At $4.95 per month, the product is aiming for a low cost. But the addition of the pricing tier represents an important move for 410 Labs, which has so far built apps and web-based services by sustaining itself on funding, which includes an equity round of nearly $800,000 raised in 2011.
“From the beginning we have been focused on building useful services that can grow to a large enough scale that we can monetize them meaningfully,” said 410 Labs cofounder Dave Troy in an email. “Mailstrom has met that criteria, and is on course to be a very successful product and the basis of a strong business.”
Troy said that based on testing 410 Labs conducted in fall 2013, he expects that 18 percent of people who try Mailstrom will become paid subscribers. (Right now Mailstrom counts 80,000 registered users. If 18 percent of that number signed up solely by the month, that would be a little more than $71,000 in monthly revenue.)
He also said that 410 Labs is “in the process of finalizing an additional modest funding round to expand the Mailstrom business this year.”
Read more about Mailstrom’s switch to a paid service here.
Before you go...
Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.
3 ways to support our work:- Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
- Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
- Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
Join our growing Slack community
Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!