Thanks guys! I wanted to let people know that HipChat is free for teams with under 4 people, and there is a 30-day free trial so your company can kick the tires. Please let me know if you have any questions at pete@hipchat.com.

PS. This kind of looked like an ad for diet coke.

LOL. Yes, that's our new sponsor :-) -- and, yes we figured there was a new "free" model in there. And, that's great that you have it free for teams under four people and the 30-day trial as well. Glad you enjoyed the show!

Bambi et. al - I enjoyed this Vator Box episode because you focused on several important concerns faced by many startups. The issue of whether to acquire non-paying customers rapidly versus gradually acquiring paying customers is a difficult fork in the road. I think your panel is correct that Skype would not be where it is today had it initially charged customers. If HipChat tries to obtain millions of users along the same path, HipChat's business model would have to focus purely on customer acquisition, and providing an awesome free service -- that's the essence of a preemium model (i.e. dropbox, skype). I imagine that this would also entail more funding.

Another issue that I found interesting is how will HipChat acquire customers? Will it build ontop of Skype, Salesforce, current AIM-clients, or maintain its stand-alone website? In terms of a niche, it seems that it's targeting mid-size businesses -- a more important question for me is WHICH type of businesses are they going after? Architecture firms? National non-profits? Another issue that I'd like to know is what it's doing to go after those niches? Companies like Facebook have shown that going after an initial niche/small market can really ignite the tipping point.

This interview in particular hit home for our startup, FriendCameo. Unlike HipChat, we already have the user traction (350,000 users) which we built ontop of a platform (Facebook). Our next concern is how -- in the words of Jed Katz -- will we get to "millions of users" while still providing a freemium model.

Again, great job and best of luck to you Pete.

Bambi et. al - I enjoyed this Vator Box episode because you focused on several important concerns faced by many startups. The issue of whether to acquire non-paying customers rapidly versus gradually acquiring paying customers is a difficult fork in the road. I think your panel is correct that Skype would not be where it is today had it initially charged customers. If HipChat tries to obtain millions of users along the same path, HipChat's business model would have to focus purely on customer acquisition, and providing an awesome free service -- that's the essence of a preemium model (i.e. dropbox, skype). I imagine that this would also entail more funding.

Another issue that I found interesting is how will HipChat acquire customers? Will it build ontop of Skype, Salesforce, current AIM-clients, or maintain its stand-alone website? In terms of a niche, it seems that it's targeting mid-size businesses -- a more important question for me is WHICH type of businesses are they going after? Architecture firms? National non-profits? Another issue that I'd like to know is what it's doing to go after those niches? Companies like Facebook have shown that going after an initial niche/small market can really ignite the tipping point.

This interview in particular hit home for our startup, FriendCameo. Unlike HipChat, we already have the user traction (350,000 users) which we built ontop of a platform (Facebook). Our next concern is how -- in the words of Jed Katz -- will we get to "millions of users" while still providing a freemium model.

Again, great job and best of luck to you Pete.