Panelists:

Rob Bernshteyn, Coupa K.V. Rao, Zuora Lisa Rutherford, TwoFish Moderated by: Chris Yeh, PBWiki

Is enterprise software is dead. Why? Traditional software players cannot take advantage of evolutions to subscription model due to fixed costs. Selling software as a good on CD model just doesn’t work anymore.

When thinking of business models ask yourself–who is going to buy this? What they want to do with it? What business model makes sense?

• Stop and ask yourself why. Is there a way that your game or application becomes better for consumers with use of virtual goods.
• In a services economy, the customer pays for value delivered. The relationship is recurring and so support is part of it, rather than an afterthought.
• Get in to your space and leap unto trend at the right time.

Are there other models besides NetFlix that would be appropriate to emerging apps?

• Any data ppl would want to buy—providing the right price and experience. Ex iTunes songs and Apple store, experience at points of time in customer process rather than
• Telecom various kinds of segmenting in product packaging
• Computer buying—ability to customize package

What business model is most exciting to you which you are not using own company?

• Gaming—wrap experience of fantasy football for free but charging uniforms
• Wrapping brand advertising into avatar social network—Gucci bags status game, badge message of only tone of guchi purses exist in CA and u can message that to friends
• Liveops—company that lets you bid sales agents across the globe. Auction pricing. Arbitrage between labor costs
• Raffles and auctions quickest and easiest way to exchange value and models

Key not to forget customer’s evolution in business and buying cycle—run into a lot of clients who run into needing fixed enterprise model to get it approved by their finance department. Your company must have systems in place to provide flexibility.

Is advertising model dead?

• Advertising works really well when there is a gap between what people are willing to pay for versus willing to consume. Hence ad rise in social networking applications.
• Social networking people are coming up more and more things people are willing to pay for.
• Ex. Faucet price fixing by faucet fixing blogger—contextually offering items
• Advertising model evolution is driven by evolution of the technology to make advertising more relevant or the viral content is the ad rather than the ad as untargeted content

Does it make sense to pursue a B2C model where most B2Cs software is provided free?

• Opportunity still exists if you can provide a distinct experience and basis for purchase. Look at Apple and music. Gaming and virtual reality there are paid investments.
• Some pieces of software that can be sold to consumers—example media filtering tool
• Serve a small segment of market, prosumers well and you can charge money for it.
• Delayed dynamics of when you get paid can be later—Mint gets info about me overtime. Then they can help me with premium features which I would pay for.
• People want to try things for free because they have been paying for things they didn’t value. Now they want to try to believe they value something before they commit.

What sales model works for emerging apps?

• Can’t do per closed sale when not getting much money upfront
• Pushy salesmanship does not work. Consultative selling does

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