One of the key ideas for a better life is to keep the notes of everything important that goes on. But, is it feasible to keep a notepad, and a pen, every single time with you? Well, the answer is a straight ‘NO’. But technology extends at all scales, and one such wonder of technology is ‘Evernote.’
Evernote is a mobile app for taking notes, that has solved the problem of keeping a diary and a pen. The app has been a success since its launch. But like any other success story, it also has a story full of ups and downs.
Evernote is a multi-platform app, enabling its users to capture, organize and share notes from anywhere. It is described as a tool to store images, photos, files, audios, etc. Stepan Pachikov, the founder of the company, was working on the idea for a long time. He recognized three things that our brain does: remembering the past, building connections and creating new ideas for the future. Keeping this in mind, he started Evernote as an extension for the brain. The clear-cut mission that it presented was ‘Remember Everything.’
The Evernote web service was launched on June 24, 2008, and went through a series of funding problems. As the company started, there were never more than a few weeks of cash flow. As they had the money things turned worse, they faced a financial crisis. The company decided to stop, as all the investors backed out, and it ran out of money.
But the story didn’t end here. A phone call saved Evernote from shutting down. A passionate Evernote user from Sweden called Phil Libin (the then CEO) and told him how significantly Evernote made his daily life productive. The caller went on and offered an investment to the company. Phil and the caller eventually ended up on a Skype call after twenty minutes, and a week later, the company drew half-a-million dollars to its name.
Since then, there’s been no looking back. Evernote got its 1 million users in almost 446 days and nearly 223 to double it. The service was rapidly growing, and the growth was impeccable. In 2011, the company reached to more than 11 million people worldwide. Evernote has also launched many products suiting one’s daily life comfort. Evernote is more than just an app.
When asked the secret of growth, Phil discussed eight mindsets that routed Evernote’s road to success.
1. Working with Friends – Phil recruited people he previously had worked with. “I think the most important thing at a young age that you can do is, cultivate a group of brilliant, high-energy, willing-to work-for-free, best friends for life,” he quoted.
2. Product Based on Own Needs – What really makes a product great is its simplicity and its need in your daily life. Evernote stood on both of the parameters.
3. Timing is Everything – Evernote’s timing was perfect because it grew alongside the growing market of mobile apps. App stores were launching back to back new apps, which meant the Evernote had an instant reach to the millions.
4. Freemium Model – Freemium model played a key step in Evernote’s success. It held the free customers around and converted them into paying customers with everything that was being provided to them.
5. Focus on Product – Evernote never spent a penny on Search Engine Optimization. It focused on the product itself that made their users, their biggest strength.
6. Closed Beta Success – The beta program launched by the company built a community which worked big time for them.
7. The Hundred Year Company – Evernote, in 2012, raised a $70 million funding. The funding, however, was not meant for the cash they needed. The company wanted to build a financial and technical structure to make it, as suggested by Phil, a ‘100-year startup.’
The service supports formats like formatted texts, web pages, web pages, excerpts, photographs, voice memos, handwritten ‘ink’ and notes. The supported platforms are iOS, macOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry and others. Evernote was initially built on C#, and in 2010, C# was replaced by C++ to improve the performance.
As of now, the company has more than 225 million active users all over the world. At its IPO valuation, the company was valued at a massive $1 billion. The company sails smoothly now, with it being the number one app when it comes to productivity. The success story of Evernote shows that sometimes, a little ray of hope can pull you through the darkest times, gifting you the light, the legacy that you will carry forever after.
Raghav is a student and a content writer. He loves to write about emerging as well as the existing technologies around and about the ones who bring them to you. Music is the other passion that Raghav processes. It is like the fuel to his body. He is also in writing songs and poems. He believes that life is short, so live the best out of what you have got. Raghav considers himself a sci-fi guy, having stories and tech all around in his head, all the time.