[squidlogic]

Good luck to them.

After helping make a slack-style client-side encrypted productivity app (https://balboa.io) that has been on life-support for the last 2 months, I have a lot of respect for people that attempt to make this space more secure.

It's not easy.

A few lessons learned that may be useful to others:

1. Most businesses and consumers are ok with their data being available to companies like Slack and Google because they trust these companies. They feel that regardless of reality, their data is safer with Google or Slack because those companies have a lot more to lose if they fail.

2. The SME space for productivity apps is pretty much the same as the consumer space. You're going to be competing with Google. SMEs are actually really cheap and scrappy: they don’t spend money on non-bottom line affecting stuff. If you want to sell security to them, it has to be essentially free

3. Reputation is more important than (or at least AS important as) your technical chops. You're asking people to trust you. You can show that you are competent by demonstrating a mastery of the technology, but that may not be enough to show that you are also trustworthy.