This means the $7000 billboard on the 101 in San Francisco was a significant portion of revenue. Gabriel, looking back on that, do you think it was worth it, and would you advise other startups to try it given similar revenue numbers?
Absolutely.
Presumably it's the sudden jump on Jan 3rd onward here?
If so seems like money well spent indeed.
I'm reminded of the only time Twitter ever spent money on marketing (SXSW 2007)[1]. They negotiated with the festival to put flat panel screens in the hallways. They paid $11,000 for this and set up the TVs themselves.
I'd say most of the traffic came indirectly via press who covered the story, rather than the actual billboard itself. It's been done, and I don't think the press will cover the same story twice, so don't expect the same results DDG had.
I was thinking this exact same thing, and I really hope that isn't the case, as they are pretty awesome.
It's right. You expected more?
It is my impression that the operator is already in money, he's doing this for the hell of it.
It's pretty good considering that many startups are burning through VC money at this stage in their lives and the competition it is up against. Sure it could be more aggressively monetized, but if is bringing in enough to cover expenses why not focus on building a user base rather than cashing in.