Historically businesses and startups are really tightlipped. Everything is a trade secret. Everyone is constantly wondering what their competitors are doing and if they’ll suddenly get crushed by them. Things like revenue numbers and customer retention are protected like Fort Knox.
But over the past few years, a number of companies have found that being the opposite of that, being radically transparent, can actually be beneficial. Being open with your company adds humanity to what’s generally thought of as faceless. It keeps your company accountable instead of hiding under the hype that’s so typical in the startup world.
We wanted to showcase the companies that embrace transparency with their customers, and so today I’m excited to announce the Open Startups Initiative!
A little over a year ago we decided to make all of our revenue public. Shortly there after, our pals at Buffer did the same thing. And since then, many more have followed suit, with over 125,000 entrepreneurs following along as our companies grow.
With Open Startups you get to follow along in real time and discover companies that want to run open and honest businesses. Customers get to peek in to the financials of the businesses they depend on and new startups get to learn from the people who’ve gone before them.
Today, seven startups are part of this initiative. These companies are sharing all of their revenue metrics: MRR, ARR, LTV, Churn, Customers and more!
Others are in the works and if you’ve like to be involved, please get in touch!