Everpix: loved by users, $40K a month, still shut down

Q: Why did Everpix work?

Users came back. The Verge reported a 4.5-star iOS rating, about half of free users returning weekly, and 12.4 percent of free users subscribing, compared with about 6 percent for Evernote (The Verge). Customers paid. The founders report 50,000 sign-ups, including 7,000 subscribers, and $40,000 a month in subscription sales over the last three months (Everpix Intelligence README). A habit feature helped. The Verge says the daily Flashback email led to a big spike in daily returning users (The Verge).

Q: What didn't work for Everpix, and what are the risks?

The Series A never came. The founders say they had enthusiastic early adopters and strong press but could not raise in a competitive VC market (Everpix Intelligence README). Costs outran revenue. The published P&L shows $269,974.47 in subscription income against $394,588.35 spent on Amazon Web Services alone (Everpix financials). Free giants. The Verge says Everpix failed to position itself against Apple and Google, which offered mostly free alternatives (The Verge). Numbers differ slightly by source. The Verge reported 55,000 users while the founders' README says 50,000 sign-ups. We use the founders' figure in the summary (The Verge, Everpix Intelligence README).

Key takeaways

At its shutdown announcement Everpix had 50,000 sign-ups, 7,000 subscribers and $40,000 a month in subscription sales.
That covered variable costs but not fixed costs, and the company failed to raise a Series A after $2.3M in funding.
The founders published the P&L, investor reports and VC rejection notes, a rare public look at a startup's death.

What it is

Everpix was a photo service that aimed to fix "the Photo Mess" of scattered personal photo collections. The founders' repository says it started in 2011 and raised $2.3M from angels and VCs over its lifetime (Everpix Intelligence README). The co-founders were Pierre-Olivier Latour, Kevin Quennesson and Wayne Fan (The Verge).

Timeline

2011: Pierre starts prototyping in late spring; Kevin and Wayne join as co-founders that summer; the company incorporates in August (Everpix timeline).
July 2012: Everpix raises a $1,000,000 Series Seed, after two convertible notes in 2011 (Everpix financials).
September 2012: Everpix opens for business with a 30-day trial and subscriptions at $40 a year or $4.99 a month (Everpix timeline).
March 2013: it moves to a freemium model (Everpix timeline).
April 2013: a $525,000 bridge note arrives as an advance on a Series A (Everpix financials).
5 November 2013: after failing to raise a Series A, Everpix announces its shutdown (Everpix Intelligence README). The service closed in December 2013 (Everpix timeline).

Why it worked

Everpix worked as a product. It did not work as a venture-scale business.

Users came back. The Verge reported a 4.5-star iOS rating, about half of free users returning weekly, and 12.4 percent of free users subscribing, compared with about 6 percent for Evernote (The Verge).
Customers paid. The founders report 50,000 sign-ups, including 7,000 subscribers, and $40,000 a month in subscription sales over the last three months (Everpix Intelligence README).
A habit feature helped. The Verge says the daily Flashback email led to a big spike in daily returning users (The Verge).

What to learn

Price against your fixed costs, not only your servers. Everpix's revenue covered variable costs but not the fixed costs of the business (Everpix Intelligence README).
Start distribution early. The Verge's verdict was that the team "began marketing too late" (The Verge).
If you compete with free tools from platforms, explain why someone should trust you with their data. Compare Pocket and Omnivore.

Risks and what didn't work

The Series A never came. The founders say they had enthusiastic early adopters and strong press but could not raise in a competitive VC market (Everpix Intelligence README).
Costs outran revenue. The published P&L shows $269,974.47 in subscription income against $394,588.35 spent on Amazon Web Services alone (Everpix financials).
Free giants. The Verge says Everpix failed to position itself against Apple and Google, which offered mostly free alternatives (The Verge).
Numbers differ slightly by source. The Verge reported 55,000 users while the founders' README says 50,000 sign-ups. We use the founders' figure in the summary (The Verge, Everpix Intelligence README).

FAQ

Short answers drawn from the sections above.

What is Everpix?

Why did Everpix work?

Users came back. The Verge reported a 4.5-star iOS rating, about half of free users returning weekly, and 12.4 percent of free users subscribing, compared with about 6 percent for Evernote (The Verge).
Customers paid. The founders report 50,000 sign-ups, including 7,000 subscribers, and $40,000 a month in subscription sales over the last three months (Everpix Intelligence README).
A habit feature helped. The Verge says the daily Flashback email led to a big spike in daily returning users (The Verge).

What can indie builders learn from Everpix?

Price against your fixed costs, not only your servers. Everpix's revenue covered variable costs but not the fixed costs of the business (Everpix Intelligence README).
Start distribution early. The Verge's verdict was that the team "began marketing too late" (The Verge).
If you compete with free tools from platforms, explain why someone should trust you with their data. Compare Pocket and Omnivore.

What didn't work for Everpix, and what are the risks?

The Series A never came. The founders say they had enthusiastic early adopters and strong press but could not raise in a competitive VC market (Everpix Intelligence README).
Costs outran revenue. The published P&L shows $269,974.47 in subscription income against $394,588.35 spent on Amazon Web Services alone (Everpix financials).
Free giants. The Verge says Everpix failed to position itself against Apple and Google, which offered mostly free alternatives (The Verge).
Numbers differ slightly by source. The Verge reported 55,000 users while the founders' README says 50,000 sign-ups. We use the founders' figure in the summary (The Verge, Everpix Intelligence README).

Sources

Every link cited above, in order of first use.

1.Everpix Intelligence README (github.com)
2.The Verge (theverge.com)
3.Everpix timeline (github.com)
4.Everpix financials (github.com)