I recently had a good chat with Robbie Cape, the founder and CEO of Seattle-based Cozi. We talked about some key issues in tech startups and entrepreneurship, as well as the deal his company just landed in April with computer giant Dell—one that is helping drive some much-needed business to his consumer-focused startup.
The basic idea of Cozi is free software to help families coordinate their calendars, activities, to-do lists, and chores, and stay in touch better. The Web-based service can be accessed on PCs, laptops, and mobile devices like the iPhone, Windows smartphones, and BlackBerry. The recent Dell partnership means Cozi’s software comes pre-loaded on Dell’s new Studio One 19 machines (its touch screen desktop). The companies also formed a partnership earlier this year in which Dell ships Cozi’s software on other types of PCs through its retail partners.
Cape, a 12-year Microsoft veteran, founded Cozi back in 2005, and the company released its first product in early 2007. The startup has raised some $16 million from angel investors, family members, and the media company Gannett. It now has about 1.5 million customers spread among half a million families worldwide. Cozi’s revenues come from co-branding relationships and direct advertising.
Within the challenging space of Web-based consumer software, Cape had some valuable insights to share. Here’s a quick rundown:
—On how the Dell deal came about: “When we decided to integrate into family life, we spent two weeks considering doing a hardware play,” Cape says. “So much of our vision was related to there being computers, flatscreens throughout home where people could access Cozi. For our first user experience in 2007, we built it to run on Dell Studio One. One of the first calls we made was to Dell. We were talking to the team who report to the CTO, and they said they were looking out 2-3 years. They were like, ‘This would be perfect for us, let’s keep talking.'”
—On the effects of Dell on Cozi’s business: “They’ve given us incredible exposure through their retail machines. They’re signing up 1,000 new family members a day,” Cape says. “Orders are a lot higher than they thought they’d be. Retail response has been phenomenal. We’re seeing signups come through the Dell Touch machine. I’m amazed at how much focus the Cozi application is getting. There are a variety of different apps on the machine—Cozi isn’t front and center.” As for how significant Dell is to
