Balsamiq, an application mockup creation tool built on Adobe AIR, has generated more than $10,000 in revenue less than 6 weeks after the $79 tool launched. The one-man company was profitable within 3 weeks after launch and the application itself is quite remarkable.
It's a great story of a creative entrepreneur using new technology to address a key market need and finding a healthy number of customers willing to pay for software. Balsamiq lets users drag and drop a library of common design elements around a work space, then export their final product in PNG or into a Confluence wiki. It seems like something that could cut design work headaches down substantially. Demo video below.
How many developers would love to see this kind of success for their projects? From the company blog leading up to launch to the remarkable transparency about company finances right out of the gate - Balsamiq is shaping up to be a very fun company to watch. All this success so far has come without a single write up on any of the top tech blogs, with the exception of an interesting interview with Balsamiq's founder on WebWorkerDaily.
Check out the demo video below and drop by the website for a fast free trial of the software, too. You'll probably be ready to drop $79 on it as well.
Balsamiq aims to offer a variety of "web office plug-ins" and we look forward to seeing what the company comes up with next.
Comments
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a version to mock up iPhone apps would be cool
Posted by: Geoff Longman
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July 30, 2008 12:12 PM
oooh, that's a cool idea Geoff
Posted by: Marshall Kirkpatrick
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July 30, 2008 12:16 PM
Brings back sweet memories of the shareware days, when some of the best products were hobby projects of a few talented folks.
Posted by: Q dub
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July 30, 2008 12:26 PM
Wow thanks for the review Marshall, it's truly an honor. I doubt I'll be able to sleep tonight, that's how excited I am.
Geoff, I like the idea: what would be required? Just a simple generic iPhone-like background - not too literal or I might get a cease & desist ;) - what else? I guess I'll take a look at the SDK, but if you have something particular in mind let me know (peldi@balsamiq.com)! I'm always looking for ways to make Mockups more useful and adding new control types is just a matter of having my wife draw them on paper, scan them in and add a little magic on my end. :)
Peldi
Posted by: Peldi Guilizzoni | July 30, 2008 1:33 PM
Fantastic tool!
Anyone designing product and working with developers / html integrators & graphics guys should buy it!
D.
Posted by: Pooxi | August 1, 2008 5:21 AM
I just discovered this now. What a fantastic tool for prototyping. :) http://www.balsamiq.com/products/mockups
Posted by: Dave Q
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August 5, 2008 10:30 AM
Wow, fantastic looking app. Very nice interface metaphor. I can't wait to try out the app.
Posted by: Jake McKee | August 8, 2008 9:25 PM
Really liked this tool - have not bought it yet, but probably will - 79 bucks well spent.
Posted by: Johannes Dommnich | August 13, 2008 6:44 AM