When SMS reminder service Kwiry launched back in December, 2007, I wondered whether anyone would use it. We now have our answer: not enough people to keep it going. The company sent out a notice today to users, also on its Website, that it will be shutting down on April 23, 2009.
Kwiry allowed you to text a keyword from your phone and get back an email with links to search results for that keyword. It was supposed to be a simple way to remind yourself of things. Later, it expanded to other ways to use SMS, such as to update your Netflix movie lineup. But it didn’t really solve a pressing problem. There are easier ways to remind yourself of something than sending yourself a search results page via clunky SMS. The bigger issue I think was that these reminders were for yourself instead of being aimed at other people. People don’t want to talk to themselves, they want to talk to other people, which is why communication-based services always have an easier time gaining traction.
The founders wrote a farewell note on their Website today saying:
As of today, the service will no longer accept new sign-ups. We have very much enjoyed getting to know many of you and working to build features to help you get things done and simplify your lives. We appreciate all of your help, feedback and patience as the kwiry service evolved. Unfortunately, due to economic realities, we can no longer maintain the service.
From now until April 23, you can download all of your past kwirys in .csv format (can be opened in Excel as a spreadsheet) once you login.
At least Kwiry is doing the right thing by letting users take their data out of the system before the servers get turned off.
RIP
But atleast companies like twitter, facebook, slide.com, mint.com are thriving and worth billions. long live web 2.0 http://iamned.com/blog/
Market has spoken. This is normal. There will be others following this path as their ideas, products or services do not or did not pass the market test. This is both good and bad. for me – it is good. market is self-adjusting …
I know the kwiry founders and they are great guys and smart folks (go, Ron!). I know they’ll find new challenges to solve. Big ups to them for trying to create something new.
Sincerely,
brian
Hey I actually have a good question for once, instead of my usual half clever half snide remarks.
So the Crunchbase stats say they received 1 million in funding. What happens to that money, is it all gone? Do they have to give it (or pay it) back to the investors? Was there any revenue generated out of the business at all? Are they less likely to receive funding again since they were not successful with kwiry?
I’m actually genuinely curious about this one.
Go ahead and ask your *good* question. In the meantime, I’ll try to answer the questions that you DID ask.
— There, now you got a half snide remark in return.
When investors pump money into companies, they typically EXPECT the company to spend it. The investors are putting the money at risk, looking for a bigger payback.
Typically, the founder will outline how the money will be spent, and expectations of what that investment might return (in terms of dollars or users or whatever, along with a timeline). Some may go to the founder as salary, but most had better be going toward chasing that dream.
At some point in time, the team may realize that the expectations are not being met as planned. Then the company executives may decide to revise the plan (”hey, let’s quit spending on that effort, it’s not working”).
If there is money left, the company executives may decide to spend it on a new project, or may decide to shut down operations, pay all the bills, and then return the remainder (if any) to the company owners.
In short, there typically isn’t a lot left, when a company ceases operation. A million isn’t a lot to start with.
Seems crazy that a million isn’t a lot to start with. Very interesting, thanks for that, Bob. And nice jab on the snide part, well done!
I tried this service, but honestly it was just as easy to text message my email acct if i needed a reminder. Charging users for something that they could already do for free was kinda laughable.
.guess this is why my kwiry’s havent been going through for the past month….
i actually liked the service…especially when it came to sending request for TiVo and Netflix and they also had a Facebook app that listed your kwiry’s which actually got some of my friends involved in what i liked and was doing….