> The fact that the company is not ramen profitable in 7 years (including last 3 years of dedicated effort) means it may not be a source of income for a while.
This is always a flag for me for something that needs to be investigated. Personally I think the idea the guy took to stick with CoCalc was interesting but at the same time he should really really consider hiring a CFO, someone who really understands where the money comes in and how it goes out.
Such a person could tell him exactly how much "lifetime value" is needed from each customer in order to make the company a going concern. Sometimes that number is "impossible" in that it is way more than one believes they could get for the product. When that happens, you have to take a serious look at whether or not you're looking at a hobby or a business.
It is always difficult to see these sorts of discussions after they have been had, especially when there was information that could have been developed earlier on that would have informed the decision, but it is not uncommon.
From what I have gathered from mathematician friends, they are catching on to CoCalc. I for one think it has promise. Especially with the dominance of Python in CS department intro classes, a Sage-based math environment for math classes (e.g. abstract algebra / group theory) seems sensible. Once those programmes start adopting it, you are good to go.
(I'm the OP.) Quick answer: "about $15/student". Our pricing page is here https://cocalc.com/policies/pricing.html, and people and institutions do regularly sign up for all the subscriptions and packages listed there. They were all created based on demand from users. We get a handful of new courses each week, and few individual subscriptions each day, though volume depends a lot on the academic cycle. One of the reasons I'm confident to resign from my UW job is that the business aspects of CoCalc are definitely working.
I don’t see income figures for you from this. But a general rule is your salary is only a fraction of the total cost of your position to the organization after all the overhead costs are included. We’re talking 3x-7x your yearly salary. So ask yourself whether getting 7x your income is what you’re getting from this the year after you resign. And because you’re tenured, that needs to be a long term demand that won’t go away.
Edit-I don’t see any of the above in your product/write up. Further, I used the high end of the coverage range as professor positions usually have good benefits. Stuff is expensive individually.
This is always a flag for me for something that needs to be investigated. Personally I think the idea the guy took to stick with CoCalc was interesting but at the same time he should really really consider hiring a CFO, someone who really understands where the money comes in and how it goes out.
Such a person could tell him exactly how much "lifetime value" is needed from each customer in order to make the company a going concern. Sometimes that number is "impossible" in that it is way more than one believes they could get for the product. When that happens, you have to take a serious look at whether or not you're looking at a hobby or a business.
It is always difficult to see these sorts of discussions after they have been had, especially when there was information that could have been developed earlier on that would have informed the decision, but it is not uncommon.