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Comment on Ask HN: Are subscriptions the doom of the tech sector?

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I’ve simply stopped buying software or using any services that require subscriptions unless they are absolutely necessary or unique (like XMind). I can survive by buying updates to things like Parallels or my DAW every few years, but still look for alternatives nonetheless.

I understand the developer side of the equation, but I have more important recurring payments to make (bandwidth, cloud services for self-hosting, energy, gas, school fees, etc.), so paying, say, €10 each, monthly, for half a dozen non-essential apps that I don’t use on a daily basis and don’t contribute directly to my goals just doesn’t add up—-I’d rather use a free alternative or do without, and many businesses will do the same, especially when faced with per-seat fees.

There is, however, another factor at play—-many VCs evaluate businesses on the basis of ARR, and that often leads startups to make sure they have recurring revenue from the start and bake that into their operating model.

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