The Relenta blog

Ever wondered how much the information overload is costing you? Research company Basex created a nifty information overload calculator. Eye opening, isn’t it? 

The Radicati Group estimates that you will spend 41% of your time managing email in 2009. The good news is that Relenta users will 1) spend much less time and 2) do it in style! Yeah.

Speaking of Relenta, last week there were a few very nice articles about us on TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, and Mashable. Folks posted tons of mighty interesting comments. I hope you too will join the lively discussions.

Many comments are related to Relenta pricing. Those who use Relenta as a business productivity tool tend to think that $25 per user per month is a steal. Then there are other folks wouldn’t even try Relenta because it’s not free.

So who’s right and who’s wrong? 

Our handy ROI calculator shows that for any established, commercially viable business Relenta pricing is irrelevant. Even with the most concervative assumptions. To make it more fun for everybody, don’t forget to post your numbers in comments.

If, on the other hand, you’re running a startup, non-profit, or socially conscious business, you can join our brand spanking new Relenta Incubator program at zero or reduced cost.

We’re giving away unlimited free accounts to qualified start-ups and socially innovative businesses. I believe that entrepreneurs are the key to economic salvation and hope that our modest contribution will help in some way, shape or form.

Eligibility

1. Any start-up under that is under two years old is eligible. No preference is given for the line of business, funding or revenue status.
2. A start-up must have already created at least two full-time salaried jobs, not including the founder(s).
3. If your business is not a start-up, it must be a service, community project or organization, or any other entrepreneurial venture that exists to help others. No age limitation in this case.
4. You must describe your business or project and its current communication and productivity problems. A horror story about not getting things done in a proper or timely manner will do the trick.
5. You must describe how you will use Relenta to overcome challenges and change the world.
6. Applications are accepted only in the form of comments to this post. We will use the email address you use to post to get in touch with you. In addition, you can also submit a form with your full contact details and personal message if you’d like.

Let’s change the world together!

Relenta pricing plans range from free to $25 per user per month. Those who use Relenta as a business tool think it’s is a steal. We also come across people who wouldn’t even consider trying any service that isn’t free-for-all (because Gmail is, you see). Often they are quite vocal; rarely business-like.

We’ve created a simple ROI (return on investment) calculator to show you that Relenta’s pricing is irrelevant. Really.

Here goes. Simple ROI is defined as the ratio of gains to cost, expressed as a percentage:

ROI = (Gains - Costs)/Costs

Ready? Read the rest of this entry »

In no particular order…

1. Relenta easily and naturally prevents email mismanagement. The Radicati Group estimates that you will spend 41% of your time in 2009 on managing email. Not if you’re a Relenta user! 
2. Relenta helps you fight the tyranny of information overload. Research firm Basex created a nifty calculator that shows how much the information overload is costing you (post your results in comments). 
3. Relenta is the first and only shared email, contact and task management platform. Without Relenta, chances are your team efforts resemble an orchestra without the conductor.
4. Relenta is high and to the right. Our value proposition is a killer combination of utility and simplicity that beats both standalone and integrated applications hands down.
5. Relenta is GTD-compatible. We are big fans of high-output productivity approaches such as David Allen’s Getting Things Done and Kevin Crenshaw’s Total Relaxed Organization. Other tools aren’t flexible enough.
6. You may like Relenta better than Gmail. BTW did you know that according to Google, Gmail sucks 50% more than Outlook? 3.2 million search results vs. 2.2 million.
7. Relenta makes productivity contagious. We grew 500% last year without any paid advertising and even without an affiliate program.
8. Our customers love us. They really love us.
9. Relenta is a holistic solution to your productivity problems. Life is too short for endless life hacks. Hack is a 4-letter word that comes from the German word meaning “someone who makes furniture with an axe.”
10. Relenta gives you so much value that even its modest cost becomes irrelevant. Use our simple ROI calculator to see for yourself (post your results in comments).

I was inspired to do this incredibly interesting exercise by Deepak Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. Specifically Chapter 7, The Law of Dharma, or Purpose in Life:

“If money was no concern and you had all the time in the world, what would you do? If you would still do what you currently do, then you are in dharma because you have passion for what you do. How are you best suited to serve humanity? Answer that question, put it into practice and you can generate all the wealth that you want.”

If money was no concern, I would…

Increase the salaries, pay off the debt and return the favors accumulated during years of bootstrapping. 

Give the first year of service for free to startups. Let organizations that help improve lives of other people use Relenta for free. 

Ramp-up our development capacity and complete the already-underway transformation of Relenta into a universal, open communication platform. My vision is to merge the distant worlds of CRM, collaboration and social networks into one hybrid communication channel that will accept as its own email, chat, microblogs, RSS, SMS texts, voice, video, and whatever else comes along tomorrow morning.

Hire an evangelist extraordinaire in every language.

Globalize Relenta’s hosting infrastructure.

Set up a charitable foundation to advance a few social and personal causes in Latvia, the home to Relenta development team. Latvia is a tiny, beautiful, and charming country with uniquely screwed up politics and economy. Its capital Riga had been my home base for the last six years, and I am connected to this place in many curiously intriguing ways.

What would you do if money was no concern?