Hello

I know, it sounds iffy: how can such as small team create, test, maintain, market, sell and support a software company?

Well, that remains to be seen. Here's how we are attempting to do it:

Focus, Focus, Focus

We maintain a laser-like focus on solving a single problem at the time, and solving it really well. Thats why we chose to builds small simple tools that solve a small problem, but really well. Focus.

Keeping our expenses low

We moved our headquarters to Italy from San Francisco because life is much cheaper here for us, and we only have two full-time employees: cheap!

Surrounding ourselves with outstanding advisers

We are extremely lucky to be associated with some outstanding professionals who guide us along the way in this entrepreneurship journey. See our full Board of Advisers list.

Web 2.0 really does make you hyper-productive

By leveraging web native, usable software for everything from this website to our back-office infrastructure, we are able to run a lean mean software-development machine.

Giving it all we've got

We are truly passionate about building great software that solves real problems in an elegant, unobtrusive way. We have a proven track record of doing so at our previous companies (Macromedia, Adobe Systems, Think3).

Frequently Asked Questions

What's your business model?

It's simple. We build and sell plugins for Web Office applications. We plan on building two or three new plugins a year, and to deliver each one as a plugin to as many Web Office platforms as it makes sense. We also release updates to all our plugins for "updates & support" revenue. Each plugin will be sold with the same pricing model as the Web Office platform it enhances, for an easy buying experience.

We also sell standalone, desktop versions of our tools if people want them.

What if you go belly-up next year?

I realize that you are taking a risk by buying software from me, and I thank you for considering it in the first place.

Know this:

• you can start with a small license and see how you feel
• we are well funded, have low expenses, we became profitable 3 weeks after launching, reached $10,000 in revenue in less than six weeks, $100,000 in less than 5 months and $500,000 in 10 months. Sales are growing steadily.
• Our current 4500+ customers aren’t worried, so why should you be? :)

How can you provide great customer support?

If there’s one thing we hate it is bad customer support. We take pride in providing personal, dedicated customer support. So far, even with over 4500 customers, we seem to be doing ok. With 1 full-time developer, 2 full-time support and 1 CEO who does both, we are a support-heavy organization, and we like it that way.

We are also experimenting with a new kind of customer service, one that's more open and collaborative. Check out Balsamiq's forums on Get Satisfaction and join the conversation!

What are your "green" credentials?

We do everything we can to reduce Balsamiq's environmental impact. Here's a small sample:

• We work from home (no polluting commutes for us)
• Peldi and Mariah don't own a car, and we all try to bike, walk, take the bus or car-share as much as possible.
• We hold all our meetings online, reducing polluting travel.
• We give free licenses to non-profits and other do-gooders, many of which are doing good things for the environment. Here's a partial list.

Why "balsamiq"?

Balsamic vinegar, the high-end, aged for 25+ year kind, has a lot in common with what we want our software to be: rich, smooth, pleasurable, expensive. Ok our software is actually pretty affordable but we still want it to feel like a treat! :)

Like a fine balsamic vinegar, our software adds flavor to something else (in our case Web Office apps), requires craftmanship and is made in Italy!

Interviews

Peldi was lucky enough to be interviewed about Balsamiq for the following publications and podcasts:

1. Balsamiq Studios Makes a Case for Web Office Plugins - June 19th 2008, WebWorkerDaily
2. Balsamiq Rolls Out Mockups - June 23rd 2008, Profy.com
3. Show #4: Microsoft’s BizSpark, Balsalmiq Studios - November 5th, 2008 - the Startup Success Podcast
4. my thoughts on Twitter - November 3rd, The Twitter Survival Guide eBook (eBook, paid)
5. net@night 75: Balsamiq - November 20th, Net@Night Podcast with Leo Laporte and Amber MacArthur
6. Balsamiq Mockups - a solid case for AIR - November 27th 2008, FlashMagazine.net
7. Un Uomo Solo Al Comando - January 15th 2009 - Il Sole 24 Ore
8. Interview with Peldi Guillizoni about Balsamiq Mockups - March 24th, 2009 - Peter Elst
9. Startup Interviews: Balsamiq Studios LLC - April 13th, 2009 - Antonio Cangiano for Zen and the Art of Programming (also in Italian)
10. Interview: Giacomo ‘Peldi’ Guilizzoni, Balsamiq Studios - April 27th, 2009 - Simon Graham for App The Rent
11. Interview with CEO Peldi Guilizzoni about the growth of Balsamiq - May 20th, 2009 - 37Signals
12. techZING! 4 – Balsamiq Studios - June 12th, 2009 - techZING podcast

I want to blog about Balsamiq, can I get some assets?

Here's a logo you can use (click for bigger size):

Here's a bunch of screenshots of sample mockups created with Balsamiq Mockups, and here's our low-budget 3-minute demo video on YouTube (high-res QuickTime version here: intro.mov). We also have a little OPML file for our feeds (blog and Twitter).

Thanks so much, your help is much appreciated.