[crdb]

In the particular case of MailChimp, their main competitor (AFAIK), Campaign Monitor, decided to raise VC funding after about a decade of slow grind a la MailChimp.

They hired a CEO with experience in 5 other VC funded startups (and with burning cash) and moved into the most amazing penthouse, the last two floors of a giant tower in the heart of Sydney with a 360 degree view on the harbour and ocean and city, and a great kitchen with full time chefs, and of course a marble-covered lift lobby.

In other words we have an A/B test.

[replicatorblog]

Constant Contact was another competitor, providing basically the same service, they recently sold for a billion dollars while MailChimp grew alongside them. If the market is big enough, it can support multiple companies.

[davewritescode]

They target totally different markets. Constant Contact is a superior product for the less technically literate crowd. The hacker news crowd probably isn't their target customer. I think live support is their key differentiator.