How HERE Technologies Grew Their Developer Base 10X
When HERE Technologies decided to make their location services APIs free for developers, they weren’t just changing their pricing strategy – they were fundamentally transforming their entire business model. In a recent episode of Talking SaaSy with Inturact, Michael Hirsch, former product leader at HERE Technologies, shared the fascinating journey of how going freemium led to explosive growth and unexpected challenges that touched every corner of the organization.
The Breaking Point
Before making the switch to freemium, HERE Technologies offered a traditional 90-day free trial of their location services APIs. It seemed reasonable on paper, but in practice, it was creating significant friction. Developers would express interest in trying the product, only to face weeks or months of back-and-forth with sales, legal, and procurement teams just to start their trial. By the time they finally got access, many had already moved on to alternatives like Google Maps APIs, which offered immediate access.
“Developers want to get access to something quickly, easily, sort of instantly if they can. And they want to play around with it and test it out as they do. They don’t want to be time-boxed,” Hirsch explained. This fundamental mismatch between their offering and developer behavior was holding back growth.
The Decision to Go Free
The decision to switch to a freemium model wasn’t taken lightly. Half the company worried they were giving away their valuable intellectual property for nothing. However, they had a powerful ally in their corner – the CEO understood the value of capturing developer mindshare and supported the initiative.
The team designed their freemium model carefully. Developers could use up to 250,000 API calls per month for free – enough to experiment and build prototypes, but not enough to build a full-scale business. Beyond that, they offered a paid tier up to 1 million calls per month, and enterprise agreements for larger volumes.
The Impact: Immediate and Dramatic
The results were immediate and dramatic. “If you saw our line going up, up, up, up, up, there was a bend. There was an inflection point at the moment we launched freemium,” Hirsch recalled. “The slope of that line increased and stayed positive at that new higher level slope for the next 3 years.”
The company went from 50,000 developers to half a million in just three years – a 10X growth that exceeded their initial goals. But with this explosive growth came new challenges that tested the organization’s ability to adapt.
The Hidden Complexities of Hypergrowth
While the growth in developer numbers was exciting, it created several unexpected challenges:
1. Support at Scale
With thousands of new developers using the platform, traditional one-on-one support became impossible. The team had to pivot to creating extensive documentation, tutorials, live streams, and other scalable support resources.
2. Finding the Signal in the Noise
With so many free users, identifying potential enterprise customers became more complex. The team discovered this through interesting cases like Domino’s Pizza, where multiple developers from different teams were using free accounts for experiments that eventually led to an enterprise deal.
3. User Attribution Challenges
One of the biggest hurdles was connecting different developers from the same company. Many would sign up with personal Gmail addresses, making it difficult to identify when multiple developers from the same organization were using the platform.
4. Sales Organization Transformation
The traditional sales model of territory-based account executives had to evolve. The team introduced a stepwise approach, using inside sales and lead development representatives as the first line of contact before involving the direct sales team.
Strategic Insights for SaaS Leaders
Through this experience, Hirsch developed several key insights that are valuable for any SaaS company considering a freemium model:
1. Strategy Isn’t What You Say, It’s What You Spend On
“If you want to know what a company’s strategy is from the outside, look at where they spend money,” Hirsch advised. “Because strategy ultimately is where you spend your money.” This meant reallocating resources from traditional sales to developer support, content creation, and community building.
2. Plan for Success
Many companies focus on the initial launch of freemium but fail to plan for what happens if it works. “Make sure you’re planning for what you’re going to do 2, 3, 4 months from now when this is wildly successful,” Hirsch emphasized.
3. Metrics Matter, But Choose Wisely
While it’s easy to get overwhelmed with data, what’s crucial is identifying the right metrics to track. In HERE’s case, they learned that steady growth in usage was a better indicator of potential enterprise customers than absolute usage numbers.
4. The Value Proposition Doesn’t Diminish
A common concern with freemium is that it devalues the product. However, Hirsch noted that in B2B, where users and buyers are different, free access for developers doesn’t diminish the value proposition for enterprise buyers.
Transforming the Go-to-Market Motion
Perhaps the most significant insight from HERE’s experience was how freemium completely transformed their go-to-market strategy. Instead of trying to unseat incumbent providers at large enterprises – a long and difficult sales cycle – they could now grow from the bottom up. By getting developers to build with their APIs first, they became the incumbent, making the enterprise sales conversation much easier.
“Let’s go get those developers who are just now figuring out they need to start using location services and maps,” Hirsch explained. “Let’s get them hooked on our services… As they grow in their usage, we are the incumbent now.”
Looking Forward
The lessons from HERE Technologies’ experience with freemium are particularly relevant today, as more B2B companies consider product-led growth strategies. While freemium isn’t right for every product, when implemented thoughtfully with a clear understanding of user behavior and proper organizational alignment, it can drive explosive growth.
The key is recognizing that freemium isn’t just a pricing strategy – it’s a comprehensive business transformation that requires careful planning, clear communication, and organizational flexibility. As Hirsch summarized, “Freemium isn’t a strategy. Freemium is a tactic to execute against a strategy.”
For companies considering this path, the message is clear: be prepared for success, plan for scale, and make sure your entire organization is aligned around the transformation. The rewards can be tremendous, but only if you’re ready to handle the complexity that comes with hypergrowth.
The story of HERE Technologies serves as both an inspiration and a roadmap for companies looking to leverage freemium as a growth strategy. It demonstrates that with proper execution, giving away your product can be the fastest path to growing your business – just make sure you’re ready for what comes next.
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