Monday, March 27th, 2006

Barriers to Exit: Don’t Take Storage from a Stranger

By

During a routine google search for box.net mentions and links, I ran into a troubling post on an “elance” type website. I’ll let the title speak for itself:

Project: Box.net Clone

Well, this is fun. It’s always amazing to think about people’s varying perceptions of the complexity and difficulty that goes into developing a technology company. Sure, at the core, anyone can make a site that uploads and downloads a file- heck, you could probably throw in sharing and and sub-users a week later. But this is not your company. The value you are providing is in the reliability, ease of use, support, and of course those few extra features that go above and beyond users’ expectations (eg, netvibes and goowy integrations). If this person, or anyone else, thinks that getting into online storage is as easy as creating a “clone” of Box.net, imagine this same provider as the gateway to your critical files. Altogether, this introduces a whole new issue that should be touched on.

If you’re like me, you find yourself exploring a handful of new websites every day. Techcrunch and others provide us with no shortage of beta previews for malnourished RSS readers. Will most of these profiled websites still be around by the end of the year? Tough to tell, but my guess is no. Since the barriers to entry are often so minimal (capital, resources, etc) – then, on the converse, the barriers to exit can be similarly small. If you didn’t take five million from a VC, then what’s stopping you from closing the doors and going back to your day job? I’m not trying to instill fear in anyone- but I think it’s an interesting question – and one that should be asked. I know we get asked it daily. The difference is that Box.net has a clear understanding of what it wants to achieve and how it will get there. We don’t rely on contextual ads or complicated partnerships to stay around; we rely on our site and service being excellent and users wanting to pay for it. That’s all for now :)

Ohh, and by the way, some sweet photo gallery stuff is coming later today.

By

See all of Aaron's articles.

 
  • http://5thirtyone.com derek

    it was only a matter of time i guess. look at the popularity of digg and the number of digg clones that are floating around the net. imitation is the lowest form of flattery so… ;)

  • Aaron

    Derek- it is pretty amazing what the digg clones are getting away with. And they do it in the same exact format!

  • http://hembach.com Jens Hembach

    If this box.net clone is in fact set up as some sort of phishing site, then that poses a real problem.

    If it is, in fact, just a close site that offers the same or similar services, that that’s a good thing for consumers. With all due respect to the team that has been working so hard on box.net, online storage isn’t a unique idea, and box.net doesn’t lay claim to having some sort of ingenious, brilliant new service.

    The thing that sets box.net apart is not the product itself, but its implementation — that includes everything from the site’s design, UI, reliability, customer service etc.

    Competition is healthy. If it’s just a 1:1 knockoff, there will still be competition based on service levels, reliability, speed and so on. Otherwise, these services will compete on feature sets and pricing. Box.net, as far as my research showed, sits in a unique spot in the market, as do the respective competitors (streamload, mp3tunes, to an extent even gmail).

  • Aaron

    Jens,

    You are right, we definitely didn’t invent anything here (though we like to think our implementation was dead on). The point of this post was not about someone stealing our “proprietary” technology, but rather, A. watch where you are putting your files, and B. the barriers to entry are low, and so are the barriers to exit.

    Thus…

    This type of company is not good for consumers. Someone who starts out their online storage endeavor by claiming they want a “box.net clone” for a few thousand dollars is not going to be around very long – trust me – because they simply don’t have to be.

    However, for the rest of your comments, they are definitely appreciated. We will continue to stay in our unique position and be sure to offer the best service we can (even if there are a few hickups along the way).

    - Aaron

  • JOJOFACE

    Wow. How safe could you possibly feel uploading important files to a website that advertises itself as a Box.net clone? Something smells phishy.. ;)

  • http://www.blogindiana.com Noah

    At least on Elance, it’s quite common to see projects posted like “——.com clone” or “Need copy of ——- dating site.” It’s both hilarious and frustrating. The “fools and their money” have no idea what they are doing and are looking for an easy buck. Services like box.net are here for a reason–smart, savvy, innovative people with the brains behind the idea.

    I liken those other websites to failed space satellites that break and orbit the Earth for eternity taking up space and just cluttering things up.

    Keep on truckin’ :p

  • Nick

    Aaron,

    Hope for the best, man. I heared that buyers give around $20 per free user.

    good luck and do not pay much attention to ” clones ” they will come and go, this is simply how it works.

    nick

  • http://which1,lol Dave

    I disagree, that because somebody pays $1000 vs $5 million from a venture cap, that they are untrustworthy with my data. If I invest $1000 of my own money into a project, I expect to continue on with it: to me it would be an unacceptable “waste” of my investment to simply exit. I understand that statistics may favor the venture capitol- backed investment, but few things in this world are absolutes. Besides, I’d never put truly “critical” data on someone else’s system; just doesn’t make sense to me. Best of luck with your endeavors.

  • http://acobox.com Blog Picture

    I like this. However, whether the information provided herein is useful or not shall be decided by the specific outcome after putting into use in real world practice. Theory is one thing. Practice is another.

  • Pingback: Box.net Blog » Blog Archive » New Rule: Don’t launch a storage service if you’re going to close down within a year.

  • http://findmesomeone.org/ Courtney Meling

    Hi – It’s great to find such interesting writing on the Internet as I have been able to fiind here. I agree with much of what is written here and I’ll be returning to this website again. Thanks again for publishing such great reading material!!

  • http://www.cureforboils.net/ cure for boils

    that’s an elegant way to put it

  • Pingback: New Rule: Don’t Launch a Storage Service if You’re Going to Close Down Within a Year. | The Box Blog - Read about new features, interviews and more