创业项目黄了后，我靠着被废弃的副业项目，年收入45亿，将公司做到了200多亿市值

{"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"blockquote","content":[{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"为创业沟通方便开发了一款邮件系统，没成想，原本的创业项目黄了，这个邮件系统倒是火的一塌糊涂，创始人直接开启二次创业...."}]}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"align":null,"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"很不幸，我创业失败了"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"MailChimp 是美国电子邮件市场的独角兽，占据了 60% 的市场份额，年收入达到了 7 亿美元（约45.5亿元人民币）。不过，你可能想不到，这个产品最初只是其创始人Ben Chestnut 创业时的附属产品。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"2000年，Ben Chestnut 失业了，他计划在自己熟悉的网站设计领域创业。毕竟他在此前的工作生涯中制作了大约2000条横幅广告，他很清楚如何设计可以提高点击率。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"于是，他带着自己的创业伙伴开始挨个办公楼寻找客户，最终拿到了一个13000美元的项目和一个32000美元的项目。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"遗憾的是，这家网站设计公司并没有如开局那般顺利，它很快就陷入了停滞不前的境地。客户的意见才是真正的KPI，其他的都不重要，这群内向的设计师也不善交际，整日被不确定性的因素和繁重的工作量拖累。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"在公司濒临破产之际，整个团队开始对各项业务进行核对时惊讶地发现，他们为了沟通方便顺手做的邮件系统的收入已经超过了公司所有咨询项目的总和。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"最开始是，设计人员在和客户沟通的过程中有一些重复性的事情需要一遍遍的通过电子邮件完成，而那些客户也不太会操作电脑，为了避免麻烦，团队就觉得这个工作可以通过自动化的方式搞定，也可以降低双方的沟通成本，于是团队编写了一个通用的、自助式的解决方式，客户如果选择采用会收取每封邮件0.01美元的费用。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Ben带着团队从一款失败的类似产品中获得了它的代码，并对代码进行了修改，并于2001年向他们的网络代理客户群推出了 MailChimp。"}]},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"align":null,"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"二次创业开始了"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"虽然Ben原来那家设计网站要倒闭的消息已经传开了，但很多老客户还在使用这款电子邮件工具，一些以前不是Ben的客户的小企业也开始联系Ben表示希望可以使用这款电子邮件工作。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"对客户来说，一个3万美元的网页设计项目多几张50美元的发票根本不值一提，因为这种小额发票来回报销的效率比较低，团队又推出了订阅模式，还顺带开通了信用卡支付，这个最早的软件即服务产品就这么诞生了。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"strong"}],"text":"如何让一款内部使用的后台工具在零投资的情况下，成长为一家市值 42 亿美元（约273亿元人民币）的行业巨头？简单地说，就是用尽书本上所有的游击战术。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"strong"}],"text":"1、半病毒式的免费增值模式 "},{"type":"text","text":"是该邮件系统成功的最大功臣，它让该项目在仅仅一年的时间里从 10 万用户增长到 100 万用户。在当时，允许用户免费使用整个平台是一种新颖的做法。免费增值模式爆炸性成功主要因为每封“免费”发送的邮件都在脚注中包含了 MailChimp 的标志，这构成了一个有机推荐的半病毒式循环，因为用户只有在他们的邮件数量达到一定数量后才需要付费，所以，第一次付费 MailChimp 就像是一种仪式，这意味着你已经赚了一些钱了。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"strong"}],"text":"2、"},{"type":"text","text":" "},{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"strong"}],"text":"小众社交平台"},{"type":"text","text":"。“Code、Blog、Tweet、Repeat”是该公司早期的格言——仅仅是因为这个营销策略很有效。2007 年，Twitter 的拥挤程度大大减少，而 MailChimp 却在网络上得到了真正的曝光。类似地，他们还买了广告，在“Serial”的每一集节目开始时播放。现在，这个播客非常流行，并成为"},{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2014\/12\/18\/showbiz\/feat-serial-podcast-btn\/index.html#:~:text=5%20million%20%2D%20%22Serial%22%20is,November%202014%2C%20according%20to%20Apple.?fileGuid=C2elXFDLpa87LvmF","title":"","type":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"播客历史上第一个下载量达到 500 万的播客"}]},{"type":"text","text":"，但在播客上购买广告在当时是一件时髦的事情。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"strong"}],"text":"3、"},{"type":"text","text":" "},{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"strong"}],"text":"设计师的营销活动"},{"type":"text","text":"。2014 年，一个播客广告的播音员无意将 MailChimp 念成了 MailKimp。这则广告被流传给了 100 万用户，但正如预期的那样，该公司决定将这个滑稽的错误转化为整个市场营销活动。不久，"},{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VZvDv2-Zy3I&ab_channel=MailShrimp&fileGuid=C2elXFDLpa87LvmF","title":"","type":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"MailShrimp"}]},{"type":"text","text":"、"},{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7XdSIULCQjU&ab_channel=FailChips&fileGuid=C2elXFDLpa87LvmF","title":"","type":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"FailChips"}]},{"type":"text","text":"、"},{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BIBTmSGM0IU&ab_channel=VeilHymn&fileGuid=C2elXFDLpa87LvmF","title":"","type":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"VeilHymn"}]},{"type":"text","text":"和其他一堆 Bumblesnuff-Crimpysnitch 式的衍生产品的整个品牌都被推出，伴随着富有创意的活动。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"strong"}],"text":"4、"},{"type":"text","text":" "},{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"strong"}],"text":"Chimp"},{"type":"text","text":"！打造一个全能品牌背后的理论往往很庸俗，但这对于 Ben 来说确实很有效。当他还是一名网页设计师时，他就知道将黑猩猩（Chimp 的词义）加入到任何营销设计中都能提高效果。Chimp 多年来一直是品牌的拥护者，当用户登录时，它会向他们抛出傻乎乎的评论，在设置中的“party-pooper”模式下可以禁用。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"最终，这个项目成功了，因为它打动了小企业主的心。"}]},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"align":null,"level":2},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"投资者排长队，但他都拒绝了"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"在 Ben 的创业历程中，最有趣的一点是，他在没有任何外部资金的情况下开发了 MailChip。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Ben 之所以能做到这一点，是因为MailChimp 从第一天起就是一个创收的软件。多年来，他们的定价模式不断变化（每封邮件→每月订阅→免费增值），但"},{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"https:\/\/entrepreneurshandbook.co\/ukrainian-developer-built-a-19-3-billion-app-because-silicon-valley-was-too-ignorant-to-do-it-24a5b83f8fa8?fileGuid=C2elXFDLpa87LvmF","title":"","type":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"与 WhatsApp 等产品不同"}]},{"type":"text","text":"的是，它有着非常清晰的收入模式：不涉及出售用户数据。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"另外，考虑到 MailChimp 是 Ben 曾经管理过公司的衍生产品，这一点也很重要，它最初是由该公司资助的。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Ben 并不反对接受投资者的资金。但，那时世界刚刚从互联网泡沫的破灭中复苏，而风投们也不急于向互联网公司砸钱。很多人对 SaaS 免费增值模式都持谨慎态度，这在当时还是一种非常新颖的模式。Ben 遇到的大多数投资者都认为，MailChimp 应该去关注大企业，因为那是赚大钱的好地方，而不是小企业。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"对投资者而言，这一计算结果并不成立。为什么要为高度分散化、情绪化、低预算的小企业受众服务，因为其中"},{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"https:\/\/www.fundera.com\/blog\/what-percentage-of-small-businesses-fail#:~:text=What%20Is%20the%20Small%20Business,after%20five%20years%20in%20business.?fileGuid=C2elXFDLpa87LvmF","title":"","type":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"30% 会在 2 年内倒闭，50% 会在未来 5 年内失败"}]},{"type":"text","text":"，Ben 从个人经验中了解到，即使个人创业者失败了，他们也会保留自己的电子邮件列表，并且他们中的大多数人都会在一段时间之后开始做新的事情。因此，即使他们暂时歇业，MailChimp 也不一定会失去客户。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"当收入开始增长时，投资者自然就会在 MailChimp 的大门后面排起长队。这些年，Ben 看到几十个竞争对手拿到了几百万的投资资金，希望能超过自己。每一个有风投支持的竞争对手都可能意味着 Ben 犯了一个可怕的错误，那就是保持自筹资金。不过，到 2020 年，MailChimp 仍占据着"},{"type":"link","attrs":{"href":"https:\/\/marketingland.com\/mailchimp-claims-over-60-share-of-email-industry-in-latest-report-273926#:~:text=The%20company%20claims%20a%2060.51,comes%20in%20at%20only%209.52%25.?fileGuid=C2elXFDLpa87LvmF","title":"","type":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"电子邮件行业 60% 的份额"}]},{"type":"text","text":"。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"假如 MailChimp 拿了风投的钱，它会发展得更快吗？也许会吧。但也有可能，那些痴迷于大企业的投资者会逐渐剥削 MailChimp 的创意和创新文化，而这正是 MailChimp 最初与众不同之处。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"最后，我想用我最喜欢的 Ben Chestnut 的一句话来结束本文："}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"blockquote","content":[{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"“当事情变得艰难而黑暗时（企业家经常遇到这种情况），我记得我在乔治亚州厄普森长大时认识到的一些事。当我们在树林里迷路的时候，我对一群朋友说过这句话。我说：‘伙计们，没人来了。’（笑）这听起来可能不是很积极，我很抱歉，但你们要知道：没人来，这就要看我们自己了！如果你是一名企业家，没有人会真正帮助你。你得自己弄清楚该怎么做才能摆脱困境。但是如果你真的走出了困境，就会有很多人加入你的行列。我一直对自己这样说。”"}]}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"heading","attrs":{"align":null,"level":4},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"作者介绍："}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","text":"Alan Trapulionis，热衷了解人们是如何工作的。"}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"size","attrs":{"size":10}},{"type":"strong"}],"text":"原文链接："}]},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null}},{"type":"paragraph","attrs":{"indent":0,"number":0,"align":null,"origin":null},"content":[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"size","attrs":{"size":10}}],"text":"https:\/\/entrepreneurshandbook.co\/a-web-designer-turned-his-side-project-into-a-700m-year-revenue-business-without-vc-money-55cd13ee560"}]}]}