Update 1/21/25:
Interesting that CV's hosting costs are around $4k a month.
($4218 + $7227 - $4000) × 12 = $89,340
That would make their net revenue around $89,340 annually (at a minimum since we're assuming all supporters pay $6/month).
I really don't know anything, but over the last couple days since Andy's winding down announcement, I have clicked on thousands of links on here and Posts to study the state of this platform.
Financially, interesting things of note:
- There are currently 703 supporters. Assuming only the minimum of $6/month for each subscriber, that is 703 × $6 = $4218/month.
- There are currently 73 job listings. At a flat $99/month that is 73 × $99 = $7227/month.
In total, that means CV is making at the minimum $11,445 in monthly recurring revenue. Annually, that is $137,340. For a 4-year-old remote startup with a staff of 3 that raised a round of capital, it's a bit tight, but with minimal operating expenses, the only existential risk is if the staff (especially the 2 founders) are no longer willing to stomach drawing below-market salaries.
Product-wise, the surface area is actually quite large, with a whole site builder and iOS app to boot. They made a bet during the Twitter takeover on October 27, 2022 to expand the product horizontally instead of vertically (focusing on the core resume / networking product). In total, that's 2 big adjacent swings.
I think they could be charging way more for job posts, but job boards are a tough business, with wild fluctuations and particular challenging for creative industries. For reference, Pieter Levels shared they peaked in revenue in November 2022, which probably tracks for Read.CV as well.
Personally, I think the core resume and professional profile product is extremely valuable and serves a genuine need, as evidenced by the hundreds of personal websites I've seen linking back to their Read.CV profile instead of a PDF resume or a LinkedIn profile.
However, because the business is not necessarily lucrative or predictable, that makes it challenging to raise additional capital or keep motivated despite best intentions. No harm no foul! But I do wonder if they should keep on swinging, I think I would if I were them.
pssssttt... still there? check out: DESIGN.STYLE ✨ (invite code: POSTPAL)