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0 pointsrdl13y ago0 comments

That's why you charge them before they fail. The idea being to make users more willing to trust random startups with data and business service.

In the enterprise space, a lot of software contracts include source code escrow, etc.

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ericfrenkiel13y ago· 1 in thread

I like the concept but it wouldn't work for the very reason people don't save for a nice funeral.

Source code in escrow works because a large customer builds it into the contract; meaning you only get paid if you agree to the terms.

Consumer startups work by removing payment friction for their users, which inverts the dynamic. Plus, most consumers aren't as tech-savvy as HN so it wouldn't enter into consideration when they use an application.

rdlOP13y ago

Yeah, it would have to be somewhat automatic and widespread, sort of like credit card warranty/travel/etc. insurance.

It might make sense for b2b apps instead of consumer. b2b apps still aren't usually sophisticated enough to do source code escrow (and what does that really mean for SaaS apps), but a business would still be hurt if someone like Salesforce disappeared (or even a smaller product like a CRM gmail extension or whatever, if your workflow is built around it.)

Also, developers are customers of sites with APIs, so some kind of promise that an API will remain available, non-throttled, etc. would be good incentive to adopt it.

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